KEY POINTS:
Defending champion Marion Bartoli breezed into Auckland yesterday, happy to see some sun and to be back where her career took off 11 months ago.
A couple of hours later, Nathalie Dechy and qualifier Mathilde Johansson were belting balls about at the ASB Tennis Centre as the French connection to next week's Classic gathered momentum.
The Classic has four in the main draw - 22-year-old Bartoli, the experienced Dechy, formidable doubles exponent Emilie Loit and Camille Pin - with Johansson and Virginie Razzano in the qualifying field.
There used to be an unwritten convention that players would return the following year to the scene of their first WTA singles win. That expectation has now eased but, if Bartoli possesses a superstitious bone in her body, it's no wonder she's happy to be back in Auckland.
When she beat Russia's Vera Zvonareva - who arrives today - in last January's final, it kickstarted a memorable year.
From there, she went on to win the singles crowns at the Japan Open in October, beating Aiko Nakamura in the final, and at Quebec in her final event, where she cleaned out Russian Olga Poutchkava 6-0, 6-0 in the Bell Challenge to complete winning bookends to her best year. That lifted her world ranking to a career-high No 17.
Bartoli's record in Auckland is good.
She was a beaten semifinalist twice before this year's breakthrough.
"I'm happy to be back in Auckland and hope the tennis season starts as well as last year," she said yesterday. "It's great to be back in a place where I play good tennis.
"The win in Auckland gave me plenty of confidence for the rest of the year. The surface suits my game."
Which is a good thing if she harbours Grand Slam aspirations next year, as the Rebound Ace is identical to that used for the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 15.
Bartoli has risen this year to be the second-ranked French player, behind Grand Slam winner, world No 3 Amelie Mauresmo.
Bartoli headed for bed after a lengthy flight and significant change of climate yesterday but world No 48 Dechy, an Australian Open semifinalist last year, and promising 140-ranked Johansson got into their work at the venue for the US$145,000 ($207,000) tier three tournament.
The second seed, 2004 French Open champion and world No 16 Anastasia Myskina, arrives today but top seed and world No 12 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia is not expected until the weekend.
French arrivals
Marion Bartoli (age 22, world No 18, 3 singles/3 doubles titles)
Nathalie Dechy (27, 48, 1/2)
Emilie Loit (27, 56, 2/16)
Camille Pin (25, 75, 0/0)
Mathilde Johansson (21, 140, 0/0)
Virginie Razzano (23, 88, 0/1)
