Tennis: Erakovic bows out in first round

Marina Erakovic. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand tennis player Marina Erakovic has lost her first-round match at the French Open in Paris today (NZT).

She took the opening set against Dutch opponent Arantxa Rus before going down 2-6 6-4 6-4 in a tight tussle that lasted about two hours at Roland Garros.

Erakovic, 23, was steady in the first set but began to wilt in the second as her error count rose, a trend which continued into the deciding set as 20-year-old Rus, who at 114 in the world is ranked 53 spots above Erakovic, booked a spot in the second round where she will play Belgium's second seed, Kim Clijsters.

Still, qualifying for the main draw for the first time since her Roland Garros debut in 2008 represents another step in the right direction for Erakovic, whose comeback from various injury troubles has been rather successful.

She won three consecutive ITF $25,000 tournaments - two in the United States and one in Mexico - in March-April this year and had a 24-6 singles record in 2011 before appearing at the French Open for the second time, and first since 2008.

Her ranking has risen from in the 300s to 167 during the past five months as she seeks to return to the world's top 50, which she last graced in 2008 when she was ranked 49.

- NZPA