Tennis: Likhovtseva keen to refresh fond memories

By TERRY MADDAFORD

When most Orthodox Russians celebrate their Christmas on January 7, Elena Likhovtseva will be on the other side of the world.

Resigned to missing out on that celebration, Likhovtseva and her husband Michael Baranov decided they may as well be in Auckland as Moscow, and have a Christmas New Zealand-style instead.

But her trip Down Under will not be one of all play and no work as she uses her time to prepare for the ASB Classic and, beyond that, the next stop on the WTA Tour, in Hobart, and then the Australian Open.

The popular 27-year-old Russian will be back for the first time since 2000 when she was the tournament's top seed.

Now ranked 42nd in the world in singles and considerably higher in doubles, Likhovtseva will not be seeded for the December 30-January 4 classic, but falls very firmly into the "dangerous floater" category.

As well as competing in Auckland, Likhovtseva and her husband have a list of "must dos." "If there is a chance we would love to go fishing," she said. That, apparently, is already arranged.

"Last time we were in Auckland we saw a lot of construction. We are keen to see how much the city has expanded. We also want to go back to the university and visit the museum.

"It is a good idea to come to Auckland early. In the past few years I have practised in the United States before going to Australia. This time we will stay at home in Moscow longer and then fly direct to Auckland.

"We have just had two weeks' holiday in the woods just outside Moscow. Now I'm getting ready to come to New Zealand.

"I'm sure I will benefit from having the extra time to adjust to the weather and time difference.

"This year I played Gold Coast as my first tournament for 2002, but it was really hot and hard to adapt to the climate there.

"And I have very happy memories of Auckland."

Likhovtseva has already seen the entry list for the singles and says it promises to be a tough.

"I think there will be some very interesting matches. The standard will be high because more players are deciding to play two tournaments before the Australian Open."

Likhovtseva says it has not been as good a year as she had hoped.

"I did not have a good start because I had not fully recovered from a hard 2001. I played a lot of tournaments and was on the road for more than six months.

"I am trying to plan my next year so I play fewer tournaments and have more time to prepare."

While her singles results were not up to expectations, she had another good year in doubles.

She and long-time Auckland visitor Cara Black (Zimbabwe) reached the final of the season-ending doubles championships - her fifth consecutive appearance in the championships. They lost to Slovakian Janetta Husarova and her Russian partner Elena Dementieva.

Husarova, ranked 33 in the world, will be seventh seed for the Classic.

Likhovtseva and Black have already agreed to play in the doubles here and will almost certainly be top seeds.

As a doubles combination, they have won six times on the WTA tour.

Likhovtseva has now won 15 doubles titles, including the Sarasota Open in Florida this year with Jelena Dokic.

At Wimbledon, she had her best results in this year's Grand Slams, reaching the singles quarter-finals and winning the mixed doubles with top Indian Mahesh Bhupathi, who played the doubles final at this year's Heineken Open.

Since turning professional in 1992, Likhovtseva has reached a career-high singles ranking of 15 in October 1999 and February 2000, and a doubles high of No 4 (last November).

She turned out for Russia in the Fed Cup in 2000 and this year, and played at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

The Kazakhstan-born Likhovtseva is one of a number of Russian players making their mark around the world.

"We have a lot of new players coming through," she said. "Dinara Safina, Vera Dushevina and Svetlana Kuznetsova are some new faces who should keep the Russian flag flying.

"Interest in tennis here is growing, especially after our men won the Davis Cup in Paris this week. That was a great final and I'm sure more people will now be interested in tennis. I hope so."