Zimbabwean tennis prodigy Cara Black hopes her second trip to Auckland for the tennis Classic keeps her fledgling career heading in the right direction.
The 20-year-old Black, ranked 52 in the world, has had to battle her way through the WTA rankings after emerging from the junior ranks as the world's
best singles and doubles player in 1997.
She won the junior titles at Wimbledon and the United States Open in 1997 and has made strong progress through 1999 after beginning her first season on the WTA tour in 1998 ranked around 200.
Rather than becoming frustrated by the lack of instant success, Black, the younger sister of Wayne and Byron Black, who play on the men's circuit, said she was still on a steep learning curve.
Black, seeded sixth for next week's ASB Bank Classic, said patience and a willingness to continue learning warded off any annoyance she felt at not translating her junior success to the top level.
"I've had a really good run so far. I'm quite happy with the way things are going and I feel I've been playing well," she said.
"Hopefully next year will be even better and I'm hoping to try to break into the top 20 by the end of the year."
"The first time I came out here [in 1998] I was just out of the junior rankings and I was somewhere around 200. Now I've got it down to around 50."
Meanwhile, tournament director Richard Palmer has described ticket sales for the event as reasonable.
The arrival of Steffi Graf soon after the event for an exhibition match had boosted interest. - NZPA
