KEY POINTS:
Marina Erakovic reckons she got lucky as she advanced to the second round of the Auckland international tournament yesterday.
It took the Auckland teenager 2h 13min to subdue 2001 champion Meilen Tu 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and set up a meeting today with another ASB Classic champion, Eleni Daniilidou, who won the 2003 and 2004 titles.
Both players had black patches in a game which featured 19 service breaks, was partly down to gusty winds, but also some ordinary serving.
But when she needed it most, down 3-5 in the deciding set, Erakovic found her touch. A sizzling forehand broke Tu's serve, and she peeled off four straight games to seal the win, her second in three singles matches at the Classic.
Erakovic beat Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier in 2005 and yesterday gave her home crowd more to cheer about. Tu at No 90, is higher ranked than Pelletier was then, making this the better win for the 162-ranked Kiwi. But Erakovic knew it could have gone either way.
"I was very lucky today. There were lots of times I stopped playing, stopped being aggressive and was 5m behind the baseline," she said.
Having won the first set, Erakovic was 2-0 up in the second when she dropped into a hole. Tu sensed she had an opening.
As Erakovic struggled, the American - playing her fourth game in as many days having come through qualifying - took out the set on another Erakovic service break to love.
With Tu serving for the match at 5-3, Erakovic invoked the spirit of Elvis Presley - "it's now or never" - and went on the offensive. She whipped out a couple of fine forehand winners and closed out the match. "I started to attack more, and it paid off. I'm just very happy I got the win," she added.
Et tu, Meilen? She started muttering at herself as the errors mounted and there was plenty of self-recrimination. But she was plucky, and will rue letting slip a royal chance to win.
Erakovic paid tribute to the crowd - "once you walked in, there was that tingly feeling you get, lots of people, a big atmosphere" - and is sure to get more of the same when she plays Daniilidou today.
"She's a very big girl, with big shots, very aggressive, a big serve. It may be a bit different from today."
She can bet on that. The 36th-ranked Greek will be an infinitely sterner test, but irrespective of the outcome, Erakovic will pocket a few ranking points to get her year off to an encouraging start.
* Late last night, her fellow New Zealander, Leanne Baker, pulled off an upset in the first round doubles. She and Australian partner Nicole Kriz beat fourth seeds Marta Domachowska of Poland and Croatian Jelena Kostanic 3-6 6-2 6-3.
