Marina Erakovic is in a singles slump, but there's nothing wrong with her doubles game after bagging a third WTA title of the year in Luxembourg yesterday.
The 20-year-old Aucklander teamed up with Romanian Sorana Cirstea to win the Fortis Championship final 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 over Russian VeraDushevina and Ukrainian Mariya Koryttseva.
Only one other New Zealand woman, Julie Richardson, with six, has won more WTA doubles crowns.
Erakovic's doubles ranking jumped 11 spots to No 43 yesterday - 18 places higher than her singles position - as a result of the win.
It came after the pair, seeded fourth for the event, eliminated top seeds and this year's French Open doubles champions Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-1, 3-6, 10-4 in their semifinal.
Cirstea, 18 and world No 36 singles player, is the third different partner Erakovic has had in her doubles successes. She teamed up with Dutch player Michaella Krajicek in June to win the s'Hertogenbosch title in the Netherlands.
Last month, Erakovic partnered American Jill Craybas to win the Japan Open final.
Early in the year, Erakovic and Australian Nicole Kriz won a pair of ITF doubles titles at Mildura and Berri in Australia, and she was a beaten finalist at the Istanbul championship in May with Slovenian Polona Hercog, lost in the semifinals at Seoul with Craybas and reached the quarter-finals at the US Open with Croatian Jelena Kostanic Tosic, both last month.
But her singles game is another story. Her first-round loss in Luxembourg to Italian Sara Errani was her eighth in succession. She has not won a WTA singles match since making the third round at Wimbledon in July.
Of interest to organisers of Auckland's ASB Classic in January, the Luxembourg singles final was won by Russian world No 5 Elena Dementieva, top seed for Auckland, who beat another player heading to New Zealand, world No 16 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
* New Zealand's Dan King-Turner lost the final of a US$15,000 tournament in Mansfield, Texas, yesterday. American Michael McClune won the final 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
