KEY POINTS:
It has been a year of firsts for Marina Erakovic, who has taken her tennis career to new heights in 2008.
Back in Auckland for the first time since the ASB Classic at the beginning of the year, Erakovic had the opportunity to reflect on what has been
a breakthrough year for the 20-year-old.
Having started out the year ranked 153, she had hoped to break in to the top 100 by the time the year was out. She achieved that goal in March and from there continued to improve, exceeding even her own expectations when she reached a career high of 49 in July. She is 53rd in the latest rankings released yesterday.
Her swift rise earned Erakovic automatic entry in the main draws of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open this year and she now regularly mixes with the elite in the world of women's tennis.
"I've achieved many firsts and I've had a great year so I'm really quite proud," said Erakovic.
"At the start of this year I wanted to be in the top 100 and I did that quite quickly so that was something I could tick off and then it just started rolling from there."
But life on the road has taken its toll on the youngster, who admits to feeling "pretty homesick" after seven months of solid travel.
She said one of her biggest lessons this year had not been on the court, but about managing her schedule better. "I think seven months is a bit long. I'd like to be more at home, it's a good feeling to be at home and I think it helps in your tennis and in your life so that's one thing I'll look at," she said.
"Scheduling-wise I've played a lot of tournaments. Looking at next year I'm going to think, `Oh right, this time last year I was playing really well and then I sort of dropped off or I was tired or fatigued so maybe I need a training gap here.' Things like that are very important to look at for next year."
Erakovic rates reaching the third round of Wimbledon _ the first time a New Zealander has won back-to-back matches at a Grand Slam since Brett Steven 12 years ago _ as one of her most memorable achievements.
Another highlight was making the doubles quarter-finals of the US Open last week with Croatia's Jelena Kostanic Tosic.
Erakovic said she wanted to improve her doubles ranking of 69 and hoped to link up with Kostanic Tosic again next year at the Australian Open.
But her main focus over the coming months is to maintain her singles ranking around the 50 mark.
Erakovic will leave New Zealand next Friday for tournaments in Seoul and Tokyo.