Tennis: Attractive Auckland proves popular destination for women players

By JULIE ASH

Ask any of the top seeds at this year's women's open why they chose to kick off the year in Auckland and it is almost impossible to stop them raving about the weather, the friendly people and even the beautiful waterfront.

A handful of the top seeds met the media at the weekend and while the tournament was the main topic of discussion, many couldn't help but comment on their love of the City of Sails.

Germany's Anca Barna is in Auckland for the fourth or fifth time, she can't remember the exact number.

"I like Auckland a lot, it is very calm here," she said.

"The people are very nice. The weather is very good. The tournament that is on at the Gold Coast at the same time is very, very hot. So it is hard when you come from Germany to accommodate that sort of weather.

"So I like coming here. I feel good coming here."

Barna would have felt even better when she found out she had been elevated to the eighth seed after the withdrawal of Jelena Dokic.

"When I arrived, almost everyone else was here so I didn't think anyone would retire so late, so it was bit of a surprise," she said.

The Romainia-born 26-year-old was a consistent performer on the tour last year, reaching the semifinals in tournaments in Vienna and Pattaya.

"My last tournament was the beginning of November [in Pattaya], so I have practised a lot over the winter and I am hoping for a good start to the year.

"I have worked a lot on my fitness so I am trying to maintain that. Now it is just about more the fitness than the tennis."

Ranked 48th in the world, Barna, who notes defence as one of her strong suits, is under no illusions as to how tough the competition will be be this week.

"It is the beginning of the year and everybody wants to get off to a good start," said Barna who is striving for her first singles title.

"I take it round by round, I don't really set a goal for the tournament. I will just try to play the best tennis I can."

Following this week's tournament she heads to Hobart for the Morrilla Tasmanian International then on to Melbourne for the Australian Open.

"My goal for the year is to get into the top 30. If I make that it will be a very good year."

Also returning to Auckland is American Laura Granville, who goes into the tournament seeded sixth.

The 22-year-old competed in Auckland last year, making it through to the quarter-finals where she lost to Switzerland's Emmanuelle Gagliardi.

"I really enjoyed this tournament last year and I really want to play here for many more years to come" she said.

"I am very excited to be back."

In her first full year on the tour last year, Granville reached the semifinals in tournaments in Quebec City and Memphis. She also made it through to the third round in both the French Open and Wimbledon.

"Last year was a really good learning experience for me," she said.

"I am definitely more comfortable on the tour now and not nearly as intimidated as I was last year."

Which is understandable - fronting up against the likes of Serena and Venus Williams for the first time would be enough to freak anybody out.

"I played Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams last year and I really believe that after the top five there is a gap.

"I think it is something everyone below that is trying to close, but their pace of shot and their athleticism is at a different level."

Like Barna, Granville, who has played tennis since she was four, is expecting Auckland to provide a tough start to the year.

"I think the top seeds Suarez, Smashnova-Pistolesi and Daniilidou will be hard to beat. They are great players, but also there are some younger players that aren't seeded who definitely could go far.

"It will be interesting because there has been a two-month break and so no-one is really match tough, and I think there could be some upsets."