Photos: On and off court at WimbledonKEY POINTS:
New Zealand tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic feels like a winner before she even takes the court in her opening round singles match at Wimbledon.
It is not a case of the 20-year-old Aucklander going into her match against Dutch opponent and regular doubles partner Michaella Krajicek with
an unlimited amount of confidence.
Instead, she is on the sort of roll professional sportspeople dream about.
In the past six months Erakovic's world ranking has risen to No 54, she gained selection in the New Zealand team to go to the Beijing Olympics and she picked up her first WTA doubles title with Krajicek in the Netherlands last Saturday.
So is she pinching herself yet?
"I don't think it's really sunk in yet," she said today.
For Erakovic, playing at Wimbledon is the first dream come true, after she made her Grand Slam debut last month when reaching the second round at the French Open.
" I dreamt about it all the time. I always wanted to play in a Grand Slam. I always wanted to be a professional tennis player. My goal ever since I was little was to be number one in the world.
"It's great to be playing here and Wimbledon is a very special place. It's probably most players' favourite (place) and I would say it's mine too."
Erakovic's parents, Mladen and Liliana, arrived in London from Auckland today and already Liliana, who is here for the first time, has had a guided tour of Wimbledon courtesy of her daughter.
Mladen was here last year when Marina lost in the first round of qualifying.
"I was very nervous," she recalled.
"Obviously, I knew I could do it, I knew I could qualify. I put too much pressure on myself and it's never good (to do that)."
It is a different sort of pressure this year, a first round match against her good friend and doubles partner tomorrow.
"She is a friend; she's someone that I've grown up with in junior days. When match day comes (though) you put that aside and focus on your game and that's all you can do."
However, there are good and bad things about drawing her doubles partner.
" One way I can look at it and say I know her well, I have a game plan. She knows I know that I am going to do this and that. We're playing mind games."
Erakovic has probably played more grass court tennis in the past few weeks than any other woman in the singles draw.
After the French Open, she won a minor grass tournament at Surbiton in London before reaching the semifinals at the DFS Classic in Birmingham and losing in the second round of the singles at the Ordina Open in Hertogenbosch in Holland.
"I always say I like to win. This is Wimbledon, this is a Grand Slam - it's going to be very tough.
"But going into every match I'd like to think I'd be the winner," she said.
SCHEDULE - WIMBLEDON, DAY 1
Centre Court
Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, vs. Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia
Ana Ivanovic (1), Serbia, vs. Rossana de Los Rios, Paraguay
Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, vs. Michael Berrer, Germany
No. 1 Court
Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, vs. Serena Williams (6), United States
Lleyton Hewitt (20), Australia, vs. Robin Haase, Netherlands
Frank Dancevic, Canada, vs. David Nalbandian (7), Argentina
No. 2 Court
Marcos Baghdatis (10), Cyprus, vs. Steve Darcis, Belgium
Svetlana Kuznetsova (4), Russia, vs. Mathilde Johansson, France
Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, vs. David Ferrer (5), Spain
Marion Bartoli (11), France, vs. Sabine Lisicki, Germany
* Tournament action gets underway from midnight (NZ time) tonight. Marina Erakovic's first match is on Day 2.
- NZPA
