Daniela Hantuchova, in action against Sara Errani of Italy, during their ASB Classic 1st round singles tennis match, at the ASB Tennis Arena, Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
Daniela Hantuchova, in action against Sara Errani of Italy, during their ASB Classic 1st round singles tennis match, at the ASB Tennis Arena, Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs.
Herald tennis reporter Michael Burgess previews day two of the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Big names take the court The big guns take the court today, with top seed Caroline Wozniacki and American legend Venus Williams in action. Nothing is ever straightforward in tennis, but both players will be highly fanciedagainst opponents ranked well below them. Wozniacki faces Israeli qualifier Julia Glushko (World No154) while Williams will play Jana Cepelova (56) of the Czech Republic.
Also in action today are former Grand Slam winners Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Schiavone faces Ursula Radwanska (sister of 2013 Auckland champion Agnieska) and Kuznetsova will play Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka.
Marina's back Marina Erakovic takes the court in singles action, playing the day's final centre court match. To add spice to the contest, she takes on her doubles partner Monica Puig, after playing with the Puerto Rican in doubles last night.
Erakovic doesn't have a good recent record in the Queen City, progressing past the first round just once in the last five years. However she comes into this tournament off the back of a solid pre-season, after spending a month in Barcelona working with her new Spanish coach Eduardo Nicolas.
Other local interest Kiwi double pairing Rosie Cheng and Katherine Westbury are also in action, facing Petra Martic (Croatia) and Anna Tatishvili (USA). They will be rank outsiders, though 16-year-old Cheng impressed in her singles qualifying match, which was her debut at this level.
Don't forget the outside courts Aside from the centre court battles, there are some great matches in prospect on the outside courts. 2014 ASB Classic semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens against Swede Johanna Larsson should be an enthralling contest, while American Coco Vandeweghe's match with Roberta Vinci could be one of the games of the day.
Courting controversy? It will be interesting if there is any reaction to Glushko's presence tomorrow on centre court.
The appearance of Israeli players at the tournament has caused a stir in the past, with vocal protests against Shahar Peer outside the arena in 2009.
Stat of the day Croatian wild card Ana Konjuh, who was so impressive last night in a straight sets win over eighth seed Mona Barthel, is the youngest player in the tournament. Konjuh celebrated her 17th birthday two weeks ago while 34-year-old Williams is the senior player in the main draw.
