Tennis: No 1 shrugs off another piece of rough luck

Sacha Jones. Photo / Dean Purcell

New Zealand tennis No 1 Sacha Jones is remarkably relaxed about getting another bit of rough luck in the women's Classic.

Jones, a wildcard, has been drawn to face two-time Grand Slam tournament winner and former world No 1 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the sold-out opening round today.

In her only other appearance in the ASB Classic three years ago, Jones, then 17, came up against top seed Vera Zvonareva first-up and lasted just 44 minutes in going down 6-0 6-1. Zvonareva, now the world No 2, was ranked 22nd at the time.

Fellow Russian Kuznetsova is 27th, more than 250 places higher than Jones, who said she was excited rather than daunted by the task ahead. "I'm really looking forward to this one," she said.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for her, but at the same time I'll just go out there and enjoy it, and try to execute my game."

The year after her defeat to Zvonareva, Jones caused a stir by turning down another Classic wildcard to go on a training regime in the United States.

She missed last January's event with a stomach muscle complaint.

Injury continued to frustrate Jones for most of 2010, but she did end the year with a strong run of results, including wins in Challenger events in Alice Springs and the West Australian town of Esperance.

"I can probably take a bit of confidence from the way I finished the last few months, after the injuries of the first eight months of the year," she said. "You can really build on that and it makes you appreciate what you have in tennis a lot more."

Jones can count on plenty of hometown support against Kuznetsova, the third seed.

It was not often her friends and family got the chance to see her play in person, she said, so it would be a bit of a novel experience for them and for her.

As for what lessons she might draw from her last appearance in the Classic, Jones said that match seemed a long time in the past.

"It was three years ago and you mature a lot in that time, especially going from 17 to 20.

"It's quite hard to compare my game from then to now, because it's improved immensely. But what I can take from it is playing in front of a home crowd and the feeling of being out on that court."

Kuznetsova said she knew nothing about Jones. She said she would have to adjust as quickly as possible to her opponent's play.

Jones and fellow wildcard Marina Erakovic are the only Kiwis in the 32-strong singles main draw, after the teenage trio of Katherine Westbury, Leela Beattie and Emily Fanning lost in the first round of qualifying.

Erakovic also has a difficult first-round assignment, having drawn to face seventh-seeded Russian Elena Vesnina in a match scheduled for tomorrow.

Erakovic will be on court today in the first round of the doubles, where she and Swedish partner Sofia Arvidsson face Romanian Simona Halep and Austria's Tamira Paszek.

- NZPA