Tennis: Doubles win for Erakovic

Marina Erakovic. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic has kickstarted her return from injury with a first round doubles win at an ITF event in Saquenay, Canada.

Tuning up for next month's Commonwealth Games after spending a months on the sidelines with a hand injury, Erakovic and her French doubles partner, Severine Beltrane, beat Canadians Elisabeth Abanda and Katarina Palivets 6-3 6-3.

They take on the wildcard combination of Nicole Robinson and Shulaeva Ekaterina in the second round.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Oliver Statham had a first round 6-2 6-3 win against Scott Robertson, of Australia, at an ITF pro circuit tournament in Alice Springs, Australia. He will face Indian fourth seed Karan Rastogi in the second round.

However, the news was not so good for New Zealand No 1 Dan King-Turner at an ATP challenger tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

The world No 245 was outclassed 6-2 6-3 by American Alex Bogomolov, who is ranked two spots above the New Zealander.

- NZPA