Tennis: NZ offers fiance two loves of his life

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Argentine tennis player Florencia Labat's husband-to-be, Carlo Esposito, has the best of both worlds.

While his fiancee is in Auckland for the ASB Bank Classic and looking for a good start to what may be her last year on the international circuit, the Italian-born, rugby-mad Esposito has been able to catch up with the televised highlights of the rugby year.

"We were going to get married in December but I had no time to organise the wedding," Labat said after beating Italian Antonella Serra Zanetti in straight sets in their second-round qualifying match at Stanley St yesterday. "Now we plan to get married later this year."

Esposito is crazy about rugby and was good enough to play a couple of games for the Italian national side. This week he is in Auckland as Labat's supporter and stand-in coach as she attempts first to win a place in the main singles draw.

Ranked a career-high 26th in the world in September 1994, 28-year-old Labat has come to Auckland ranked 117th - just missing the cut at 115 for a place in the tournament proper.

"My ranking dropped to 180 last year when I had three months off through injury," said the popular Argentine.

Victories in ITF Challenger tournaments in Lexington and Nashville later in the year helped to improve her ranking.

She meets German Angelika Bachmann in one of four third-round matches today. The four winners will take places in the main draw, with their first-round games tomorrow.

Julia Abe, the top-ranked player in the qualifying tournament, was a first-round casualty, beaten 6-4 6-4 by fellow German Adriana Barna, who in turn went out in the second round to Spaniard Nuria Llagostera.

New Zealand's hopes of having another player join Rewa Hudson and Leanne Baker in the main draw were dashed with four first-round losses, but not without a fight.

Tracey O'Connor and Ilke Gers took their opponents to three sets, while Niki Tippins took the first set from American Holly Parkinson, dropped the second and was forced to retire in the third.

Hudson will be the first Kiwi on court today. She will play Amanda Hopmans in the fourth match on court one following the match between top seed Elena Likhovtseva, ranked 18th in the world, and Maria Vento, who was seeded in this tournament last year but has slipped to 110th on the latest rankings.

Baker and Petra Rampre will play their first-round doubles in the last game of the day.

Baker was drawn to play second seed Anne Kremer in the first round of the singles tomorrow and with Rampre will play the top-seeded combination of Cara Black and Alex Fusai in first-round doubles action this afternoon.

Today (from 11am), court one: Bachmann v Labat (qualifying) followed by Srebotnik v Rippner, Likhovtseva v Vento, Hudson v Hopmans, Black/Fusai v Baker/Rampere. Court two: Llagostera v Yi (qualifying), Rampere v Webb (qualifying), Loit v Drake, Sanzhez Lorenzo/Shaughnessy v Diaz Oliva/Kolbovic, Schwartz/Wartusch v Bes/Riera. Court three: Craybas v Parkinson (qualifying), Smashnova v Tu, Mandula v Ruano Pascal, Brandi v Suarez followed by (on court seven) the qualifying doubles final.