Terry Maddaford: Where are the Kiwi stars?

Tennis holds a unique place in New Zealand sport.

Without a strong local presence no other code could count on the support and interest that tennis enjoys here.

And, in these sometimes troubled times at other sporting venues, there is no hint of the unruly or problems with over-zealous security at tennis' family-oriented showpiece events.

In continuing to attract so many of the world's best players - male and female - to their early season WTA and ATP tournaments, Auckland Tennis and event directors Richard Palmer and Graham Pearce defy the odds.

Over the years the ASB Classic and the Heineken Open have had the occasional New Zealand player getting beyond the first round proper - some, including Brett Steven, have done far better than that - but generally the success the tournaments have enjoyed has come from the strong international presence.

Almost to a player, the Auckland tournaments are held in the highest regard.

The number of players - at both ends of the draw - who make repeat trips to the ASB Tennis Centre are testimony to that.

Being pitched at the start of the year and a week or two out from the Australian Open helps.

So does the slick on-court presentation, the cosy atmosphere the stadium (once described as the Wimbledon of the South Pacific) retains and the "optional extras" both tournaments provide.

The hotel accommodation is now up with the very best in the world.

Practice facilities are top class, the tournaments are well-organised. Transport, in top-of-the-range vehicles, at their beck and call. The players want for nothing. Classic top seed Nadia Petrova arrived early and was treated royally, including her first-ever helicopter flight which took in a lunch stop at a swish Coromandel restaurant.

All players are given the option of a sail on the harbour.

The refining and tweaking are on-going.

The showpiece tournaments have much of the glitz and glamour associated with the best overseas events and attract a hard-core support.

The weather remains a problem - more with the Classic than the Open so it seems - but, like Cobb and Co, they always get through.

A day at the tennis is not cheap but it remains good value considering the time spent either in courtside boxes or stands. The catering is so-so and, in keeping with other venues, over-priced.

So, the shop window is fine.

Sadly that success is not mirrored in the playing standard as aspiring New Zealand players seek to break through, firstly in their "own" professional tournaments and beyond that in the testing international circuits.

New Zealand Tennis have grandiose plans to turn that around but converting such talk into something more positive has so far eluded them.

They, and the young players, have, in the showpiece tournaments, something to aim for.

Sadly, for the faithful who support the Auckland stop on the world tours, they will have to wait a while longer before they see another New Zealand name on the honours board.