Tennis: Last wildcards go to promising teens

Tamisa Paszek reached the semifinals in the 2008 Classic. Photo / Greg Bowker

The conversation on at least one flight landing in Auckland today will be stuck on one specific topic.

Lines like "how's your forehand" and "my serve needs some work" will be drifting up and down the aisles as between 18 and 20 women entered for the ASB Classic arrive on one flight.

The qualifying programme for the US$220,000 ($310,000) Classic starts next Saturday and the final two qualifying wildcards have been handed out.

One has gone to Austrian Tamira Paszek. Paszek, 19, is ranked No187 on the women's list, having been troubled by a series of injuries which have plagued her in the past year.

However, Paszek reached the semifinals at the Classic in 2008, beating Yanina Wickmayer, Camille Pin and Maria Kirilenko in straight sets before losing to eventual winner, American star Lindsay Davenport.

Paszek got as high as No35 in the rankings, with wins over former world No1 Ana Ivanovic, this year's Classic champion Elena Dementieva and Italian Flavia Pennetta.

However, her biggest claim to fame is winning a WTA title at the age of 15 years, nine months - one of the youngest winners on the circuit - at Portoroz, Slovenia in 2006.

There is a spinoff for New Zealand tennis, with a reciprocal wildcard available for a New Zealand player into the Bad Gastein tournament next July.

The other wildcard has gone to Russian Anastasia Pivovarova, a 19-year-old from Moscow who has a ranking of 207 and is regarded as a player with a bright future. She is coached by Craig Kardon, the former mentor of Martina Navratilova.

New Zealand pair Kairangi Vano and Ellen Barry have also been given qualifying wildcards.

Another New Zealander, Marina Erakovic, will team up with Slovenian Polona Hercog for a main draw doubles wildcard. As a combination, they made the final of the 2008 Istanbul WTA.

Hercog has a ranking of 116 in doubles while Erakovic has a doubles rank of 233, but has three titles and reached the doubles quarters of the US Open in 2008.

The Classic starts next Monday with qualifying over the weekend.