Tennis: Tough opener for doubles

Leanne Baker is eager to get on to court for the Australian Open this morning. Picture / Herald file

Kiwi doubles player Leanne Baker makes her Australian Open debut this morning but will have to face a seeded pair in the first round.

Baker, 24, and her Italian doubles partner, Francesca Lubiani, play 16th seeds Nicole Pratt of Australia and Eleni Daniilidou of Greece.

She is not too concerned by the match-up. "It's not an easy draw but it could be much worse," she said.

Te Awamutu-raised Baker is eager to get on the court. "I'm not going to hype it up and say who we should beat. I just want to play the match and see what happens."

Baker's doubles ranking is at a career high of 108 after she and Lubiani reached the quarter-finals of the Canberra WTA event. The week before, in Auckland, they reached their first WTA career doubles final, losing to Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-3.