Tennis: Erakovic wins first round

Marina Erakovic won her qualifying first-round match at the US Open tennis championship in New York yesterday.

The Auckland 17-year-old beat 20th seed Maret Ani of Estonia 6-3, 6-2. Erakovic will play Elena Vesnina of Russia in the second round.

Meanwhile, Sacha Jones has won her third ITF Junior 18s tennis title in consecutive tournaments and her fourth this year, beating fellow Kiwi Ellen Barry of Canterbury in the final of the Oceania closed championships in Lautoka, Fiji.

Jones, 14 the third seed from Auckland beat top seed Barry 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Her ITF junior rank is likely to rise from 139 to around 90.