KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's top three female tennis players made brief but contrasting appearances on centre court at the women's tennis Classic yesterday.
Number one Marina Erakovic was given little trouble by fellow Kiwi wildcard Ellen Barry, coasting to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 64 minutes.
The gulf in
class between the 153rd-ranked Erakovic and the 383rd-ranked Barry was immediately evident as Erakovic broke Barry to love in the first game.
Barry was plagued by unforced errors in a first set that lasted just 28 minutes and she never really settled in the second.
Having come out on top in what had been a battle between two nervous players, Erakovic said she felt confident ahead of tomorrow's second-round ASB Classic match against American Ashley Harkleroad.
"The score may have been comfortable but for both of us it was a fairly nervous match," Erakovic said.
"I think I handled it better because this is my third year here and it was Ellen's first.
"You could see she was nervous.
"I managed to play solid and maintain my confidence and that was that."
Erakovic has now made the second round in all three of her Classic appearances, but she has yet to go beyond that point.
She planned to "go out there swinging and go out there to win it" against the 67th-ranked Harkleroad today.
"I think I just need to keep focused and keep relaxed."
There was no Cinderella story for Sacha Jones in her WTA debut against top seed and world No 22 Vera Zvonareva as she was blown away 6-0, 6-1 in just 41 minutes.
The 17-year-old Jones had her moments but struggled to deal with the pace and depth of Zvonareva's groundstrokes and ended up chucking her racquet in frustration.
"It's not the funnest thing getting your butt whipped in front of 3500 people," Jones said.
"Clearly she's a very good player. She's [ranked] higher than anyone I've ever played before.
"It was a good experience but at the same time I am disappointed.
"I wasn't particularly nervous. I knew what I wanted to do, it just became increasingly harder as the match wore on.
"There are going to be a lot of positives that I can take out of it but right now it is hard to feel those.
"But if I keep working on it and keep my head up I'm sure it will come."
In what was her first taste of the bigtime, Jones said she went into the match "thinking it was a cool opportunity and a fun experience".
But it didn't turn out to be much fun.
Asked if she was looking forward to playing more top players to help progress her game, she said "not right now" before adding: "Seriously, for sure. In the coming year I want to be able to play these girls more and more often."
There were words of encouragement from Zvonareva.
"She has great shots, she has the game. She just has to put it together.
"I'm sure she's in for a big future."
The number one seed will face Swede Sofia Arvidsson in today's second round.
The brevity of the Jones-Zvonareva match was in stark contrast to the one that followed on centre court.
Fourth seed Michaella Krajicek was beaten in a 3hr 24min marathon by Italian Sara Errani. Krajicek received treatment for back and wrist injuries after winning the second set but struggled for mobility in the third and eventually went out 7-5, 6-7, 6-2.
Krajicek's injuries cast doubt on the likelihood of her continuing in the doubles alongside her New Zealand partner Erakovic.
The pick of the second round looks to be Lindsay Davenport's clash with fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues. The match is second up on centre court, followed by Erakovic's second round tie against Harkleroad.
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
SOVEREIGN SINGLES
Prefix numbers denote seeds:
* CENTRE COURT (from 11am)
(1) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) v Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) followed by (5) Annabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) v Lindsay Davenport (USA), WC Marina Erakovic (NZL) v Ashley Harkleroad (USA), Klara Zakopalova (CZE) v (2) Maria Kirilenko (RUS).
* COURT FOUR (from 11am)
(6) Tamira Paszek (AUT) v Camille Pin (FRA), followed by (not before noon), Pauline Parmentier (FRA) v Sara Errani (ITA), Aravane Rezai (FRA) v (7) Eleni Daniilidou (GRE), (3) Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) v Yvonne Meusburger (AUT).
SOVEREIGN DOUBLES
* CENTRE COURT
After last singles, (4) Daniilidou/Jasmin Woehr (GER) v Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)/Lilia Osterloh (USA) or Klaudia Jans (POL)/Alicja Rosolska (POL).
* COURT FOUR
Noon: Martina Muller (GER)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) v (3) Catalina Castano (COL)/Tiantian Sun (CHN).
* COURT FOUR or SIX
Not before 3.30pm, Jorglina Cravero (ARG)/Errani v (2) Laura Granville (USA)/Vladimira Ulanova (CZE).