KEY POINTS:
As Marina Erakovic settled in to watch the ASB Classic final, she would have tried hard not to think it could have been her chasing down Lindsay Davenport's blistering forehands.
The Kiwi No 1 had a good chance to make her first WTA final but was overpowered by
hard-hitting Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai 6-3 7-5 on Friday.
For Erakovic, though, tennis these days is all about no regrets and, after all, last week was a breakthrough one for her.
She might still be a teenager but she admits she did a lot of growing up in 2007 and it's part of the reason why she enjoyed such a good run at the ASB Classic.
"I have matured a lot," the 19-year-old says. "I had a really rusty start to last year.
"I wasn't happy, I wasn't playing well and at some stages I was saying, 'God, who wants to do this? Travel every day and play a really bad match'.
"Then I just settled down and enjoyed it more and realised it's just tennis, after all. That really helped me here and at the end of last year and it's going to help this year as well."
Of course, a week like the one she has just had will only increase the expectations and pressure on Erakovic.
"That's what you're going to get when you do well, and I don't mind that," she says with a smile.
The New Zealand public is desperate to see a Kiwi back in the world's top 100 considering it was 2001 when adopted Kiwi Pavlina Nola occupied a position there and the buzz around centre court last week only confirmed that.
Erakovic will probably move up from her present ranking of 152 to about 130 but, while the top 100 is a goal, it's not something she will obsess about.
Even comments from Russian world No 25 Maria Kirilenko and her coach that Erakovic has the potential to be a top-30 player couldn't broach the relaxed demeanour she now seems to approach things with.
"Last year after the ASB Classic a lot of people were saying I would make the top 100," she says. "It's obviously a goal of mine but maybe that's what I was focusing on a little too much.
"I was like, 'I really want to get these points and I really want to get into the top 100', but you can't do that because it brings more pressure.
"I don't really want to jump out now and say I'm going to do this and that. I'm just going to play, enjoy myself and feel good on the court. That way you play better and the results come."
Erakovic hopes the first results come this week at qualifying for the Australian Open.
Again, it is seven years since a Kiwi played singles in the main draw of a grand slam tournament when Nola played her last major event.
Erakovic would need to increase her ranking to about 90 to guarantee automatic entry to grand slam events. In Melbourne, she would need to be one of 16 qualifiers to win her way through to the 128-strong main draw.
She has a good serve and a decent forehand but it's her belief and fighting abilities which carried her past the likes of world No 22 Vera Zvonareva to the semifinals last week.
After a few years playing ITF events in the Australian bush, Erakovic is keen to mix it with the likes of Zvonareva more often. Last week's run might just have consigned those sorties into the bush to a past life.
