Tennis: Erakovic knocked out of doubles

They might have reached the semifinals at Wimbledon six weeks ago, but Marina Erakovic and her Thai partner Tamarine Tanasugarn were ousted in the first round of the US Open today.

Erakovic and Tanasugarn were originally due to play former ASB Classic champion Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) and Poland's Urszula Radwanska, but Wickmayer withdrew through injury.

Uzbekistan's Akgul Amanmuradova and Russian Alexandra Panova took their place as alternates and defeated Erakovic and Tanasugarn 6-4 3-6 6-4.

It rounded out a disappointing week for Erakovic, who was also beaten in the first round of the singles.

The match didn't start well for Erakovic and Tanasugarn, who quickly found themselves down a break early - something Erakovic says was due to a lack of recent play together.

"We started a bit rusty didn't really get going until later,'' Erakovic said.

"We haven't played in a little while. We did fight back even though we weren't playing that great.

"In the third it wasn't really down to anything. Tammy just lost her serve and that was it. It's a tough one to lose, especially when you don't play well. I'm sure Tammy is upset, just like me, but you've got to move on.''

Initially the Uzbek and Russian pairing succeeded in winning a large number of net cords and 'lucky shots' with Amanmuradova dominating the net while Erakovic and Tanasugarn never quite seemed to have the sort of chemistry they had at Wimbleon.

"At the end of the day, no matter who you play, they are going to be a decent pair, especially in a grand slam,'' Erakovic said.

The Kiwi No 1 was still able to reflect on what has been a successful year so far. She is currently ranked 90 in the world in singles after starting the year a lowly 324.

"It's definitely been a good year,'' she said. "I've played a lot of matches, still a bit to go. Qualies here is a good achievement.

"It's tough to take this loss today. There are a lot of things to be positive about.''

One of the biggest is the fact she's been largely injury free in 2011 after nearly two years sidelined with injury.

"Touch wood it's been great. You have to love the moments where you can just go out and play and I'm very grateful for that.''

Erakovic will next play in a WTA tournament in Quebec City at the conclusion of the US Open before travelling to Europe for a handful of more WTA events.