Tennis: Jade Lewis revels in spotlight before return to 15K events

New Zealand tennis player Jade Lewis in action. Photo / Nick Reed

Jade Lewis is hungry for more opportunities on the WTA Tour, and is planning to savour a rare taste if the rain stays away at the ASB Classic today.

The 2018 event's opening day was heavily affected by rain, with only a few players able to complete their first round clashes.

As a result, there will be a backlog of games to complete today, including Lewis' moment in the sun - if it appears from behind the clouds.

It will be Lewis' best opportunity to show her quality, before the 19-year-old turns her attention back to less glamorous dates on the world tennis calendar.

As the most promising female New Zealand prospect, Lewis has earned a wildcard into the ASB Classic main draw, where she will take on 19-year-old Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova in the final game of the night.

It's a better draw than playing one of the stars - as Lewis did last year, losing 7-6, 6-2 to Venus Williams - but Kuzmova will still be a heavy favourite. Ranked 138th in the world to Lewis' 1051st, Kuzmova has had success at junior and ITF Futures level, and will be in good form after winning three games in qualifying in the past three days.

While a win would be significant for Lewis, the ASB Classic also serves as a launching pad which could fast-track her goal to get to the WTA Tour level on a more regular basis.

Lewis says the centre court on Stanley Street will be a vast contrast to the less glamorous $15,000 ITF Futures tournaments she has been participating in recently.

"Obviously they're not the nicest places compared to Auckland. You have to really battle out there on the clay courts.

"You don't have many people supporting you - we have thousands of people here and everyone watching on TV, but then you play the 15Ks, and it's just a completely different atmosphere.

"That's where you have to start out, and you just have to try and get out of there as quickly as possible."

So while everyone will be in Lewis' corner this week, she'll need to find the same drive to succeed when back at ITF level.

"When you're having success, everything is great. After the Venus match, it was great, everyone contacting me, it was really fun, but you've just got to focus on the 15Ks and try and get to this level as quickly as possible."

But before the grind begins, it's time for the glamour. Lewis has been training in California, and is confident she's in good shape to compete with her more experienced counterparts as an important 2018 season kicks off.

"I worked on my fitness a lot the past month, more explosive stuff - just getting quicker and stronger in every aspect of my game."

"It's a big year - in 2017, I was in school for six months, so I couldn't really play the pros. Now I just have to play good tennis in the pros."

A victory over Kuzmova would be a good place to start.

• Only two games were completed early yesterday, with Petra Martic beating Marketa Vondrousova 7-6, 6-3, and Su-Wei Hsieh trouncing Nao Hibino 6-0, 6-3.