KEY POINTS:
Marina Erakovic's meteoric rise finally caught up with her as she succumbed to nerves at crucial times to bow out of Wimbledon in the third round.
"I think what let me down was that I didn't cope as well with the pressure situations on the court," she said
yesterday.
The New Zealand No 1, whose ranking has soared more than 100 places in under six months and should now enter the world's top 50, had the game to beat wily Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn but failed to take her chances. She converted just four of 16 break points and melted down on serve in the final game of the last two sets to lose 6-4, 4-6, 4-6.
Erakovic gave plenty of credit to Tanasurgarn, her friend and hitting partner, but she knew it was a match that got away after she reeled off four straight games to take the first set and missed a host of chances to forge ahead in the second and third.
"I guess her experience played a big part and I got a lot more nervous than her," Erakovic said. "She played well and I take my hat off to her."
Erakovic had the dominant serve, sending down 11 aces to none, but made 29 unforced errors to the Thai's 14. Tanasugarn also converted five of nine break points and Erakovic conceded she had been outplayed on the big points.
"It is a tough one to take as it was very close and I did have a lot of chances. It is a gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach but, then again, I can learn from this match. I had a good run. This whole grass court season has been really good. I had a lot of matches so there are a lot of positives there too."
Erakovic was bidding to be the first New Zealand woman to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam since Belinda Cordwell made the semis of the Australian Open in 1989.
She banked £28,125 ($73,769) for making the third round and secured more vital ranking points but she knows a fourth round tie with world number three Jelena Jankovic was within her grasp
Having begun the year playing either qualifiers or on the second-tier ITF circuit, Erakovic is now looking forward to a steady diet of WTA events. She next heads to Slovenia and Sweden before competing in the Beijing Olympics and at the US Open.