KEY POINTS:
The day after her selection for the Beijing Olympics was confirmed, New Zealander Marina Erakovic continued her run of good form at the Den Bosch Open in the Netherlands.
Erakovic today beat Alexis Gordon (United States) 6-1 6-1 in the opening round of her last tournament before contesting Wimbledon next week.
Earlier, the New Zealander downed Liga Dekmeijere (Latvia) 6-0 6-4 and Alek Wozniak (Canada) by an identical score in qualifying.
Erakovic, 20, is a rising star on the international tennis circuit and has this year lifted her world ranking from 153 to 54.
In her most recent tournament she reached the semifinals of the Edgbaston Classic in Birmingham beating world No 33 Sania Mirza in the second round.
The New Zealand Olympic selectors have set a top 16 selection criteria and said while Erakovic has not yet met this standard, they believed she would continue to improve.
A favourable draw at Beijing could see her finish within the top 16, the selectors said.
- NZPA
