Tennis: Cruel turn of fate lands wildcard in top junior's lap

There's an odd twist to world No 1 junior Viktoria Azarenka getting the final wildcard into the main draw of the Auckland international tournament next week.

The willowy 16-year-old from Belarus got the unexpected free pass courtesy of a shoulder injury which has ruled out New Zealand's best teenage prospect, Marina Erakovic.

By a strange turn, Azarenka and Erakovic teamed to win the Australian Open junior women's doubles crown last January. They met in the singles quarter-finals at the US Open junior champs, but Erakovic had to pull out with back spasms trailing 5-2 in the first set.

Azarenka was the dominant figure on the junior circuit this year, winning a remarkable 50 of her 53 games. She won the Grand Slam singles crowns at the Australian and French Opens, and the doubles titles in Australia, France and Wimbledon.

"I wasn't expecting it," world No 152 Azarenka said of her wildcard good fortune. "I'm really happy and I appreciate that, but I feel sorry for Marina because she's injured now."

Azarenka, who was born in Minsk and started hitting tennis balls at age 7, now lives in Arizona.

She's determined to make it to the top, and the signs are encouraging. She has won an ITF singles and doubles title and this year made the semifinals of a WTA tournament in China.

"I've been practising very hard pre-season and I feel like I've got better and fitter," she said.

Her ambition is to be around the world's top 50, or better, by the end of next year and she reckons she has the potential to make the top - "I just have to work really hard and do everything to try and make it".

This is Azarenka's first wildcard into a main draw and she's not fussed who she draws in Monday's opening round of the ASB Classic.

The quality in the 32-strong field is such that there will be some tough first- round contests.

Apart from Azarenka, there was good news for Puerto Rican Kristina Brandi yesterday. The world No 89 got the final spot in the main draw as the top-ranked player to miss out when entries were taken. The gold/silver exemption is for any player in the world's top 50 not involved in any other tournament. None needed the exemption, so Brandi got the nod.

The draw for the 32-player qualifying draw was made yesterday. The field ranges from top seed Jelena Kostanic of Croatia, the world No 87 who won the doubles title in Auckland in 2004, to promising teenage American Jessica Kirkland at No 188.

Of the four New Zealanders, Sacha Jones has drawn world No 142 Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei; Tracey O'Connor will play No 143 Yvonne Meusburger of Austria; Kairangi Vano plays No 167 Japan's Ryoko Fuda; and Shona Lee meets Luxembourg's Claudine Schaul, ranked No 174.

The field includes two former Classic singles winners, American Meilen Tu and Luxembourg's Anne Kremer, and two former beaten finalists, American Ashley Harkleroad and Russian Tatiana Panova.

Qualifying starts at 10am today.