Tennis: Return of service

New Zealand's Marina Erakovic in action during her loss to France's Alize Cornet, in their first round match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Marina Erakovic doesn't look at world rankings. it's just something she doesn't do.

If she cared to look at the ranking list due out tomorrow, it will show her in the mid-170s. It's not a particularly
lofty position, certainly not for someone who once occupied a place in the world's top 50 - but it's a vast improvement on where she was as recently as six weeks ago.

She started the year at 324 and spent February and March in the 280s and 290s before a run of three tournament wins in six weeks that has seen her gather some good momentum.

They all came at ITF US$25,000($31,500) events, a level below the lucrative WTA tour, so Erakovic is keeping things in perspective. But they are wins, nonetheless. There haven't been many since her breakthrough year in 2008, when she climbed to a career-high 49.

In 2009, injury followed her around like a stray dog. In 2010, frustration sat at the same dinner table. If she didn't pick up niggles, she was struggling to work out where her next win might come.

In April last year, she even experienced the indignity of entering qualifying for an ITF tournament in South Africa as low as 748 in the rankings. The rankings don't go beyond 1094 and it's not a position any tennis player wants to occupy.

Now her ranking allows her to enter qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon. She's gained direct entry to both in the past - she reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2008 - but it's a position few might have expected her to be in this year. She has even reclaimed the Kiwi No 1 spot from Sacha Jones, who has made limited progress this year and is ranked 246.

Erakovic has been quite calculating in manipulating her comeback. She could have tried to enter WTA qualifying
events in the hope of making the main draw (where there is bigger money and ranking points on offer) but decided to attack the ITF circuit instead. It was like going back to the early days, when it's all about playing, and hopefully winning, matches at whatever level they need to.

"I needed to really get a lot of matches going, to play good tennis and get myself going," the 23-year-old says. "I just needed a few events where I won a few rounds and I have exceeded my expectations. Once I got on a roll, I just kept going and kept getting confidence from every match. That was the difference from maybe a year ago."

Perhaps even more importantly, she has been injury-free since November. She can't remember the last time she went six months without picking up some sprain or strain. There was the hip injury which needed surgery and rest, and the troublesome wrist injury which meant hitting a tennis ball was even more agonising than her lack of results.

"It was tough," she admits. "2009 was a really tough year. Basically the whole year went by for me. It's something I had never been through before. I had to learn how to deal with that and learn how to train again and get motivated to play. Even at the end of last year, I felt I was playing well but couldn't bring it on to the match court.

"I try not to think about that now. I just want to enjoy the pain-free days," she says almost dreamily. "I like the healthy word."

It meant she was able to withdraw from another US$25,000 event in Florida last week. She could have chased
more ranking points and another winner's cheque but it could have also meant chasing trouble. Erakovic is a much wiser model than previously.

"I canned it because I've been playing a lot of matches," she says, "which is a good thing." She will convalesce in Auckland for a few days before heading to Europe in 10 days to play qualifying for the WTA event in Rome before trying her luck at Roland Garros and then a tilt at the grass court season in the UK.

The Rome event will see her dip her toes in a WTA event for the first since qualifying for Memphis in February. It means her comeback is ahead of schedule.

"It's just really exciting to play at events again and to be in Europe at this time with the best players," she says. "It creates a lot of motivation for me personally.

"I know a lot of the girls now in the top 20. I played with them and we played juniors together. It's somewhere I want to be, too, and it's something I'm working towards. It's nice to know I have that game, that I can do it. It's just a matter of working hard and playing the matches. And staying healthy."

Brenda Perry has played as big a role as anyone in Erakovic's development. She has advised and mentored her and was once part of Team Erakovic.

The biggest hurdle Erakovic faced, she said, was overcoming her mental demons as much as her physical ones. Doubt is not something you want on a tennis court.

"It's challenging," Perry says. "The last three titles shows her perseverance and commitment, as well as her ability to come through tough times. "Her breakthrough has come at just the right time because to be able to play French Open and Wimbledon qualifiers is a big opportunity. Now she has that opportunity, she will want to capitalise on it."

Erakovic thinks she's hitting a "bigger, heavier" ball, is more aggressive in her approach and has improved her movement around the court. The top players have the sort of power and explosiveness Erakovic is never likely to match but it doesn't mean she shouldn't try to bridge the gap. She might not ever make it back into the world's top 50 but she's certainly capable of a spot in the top 100 and forging a good career.

"In tennis, you can't look ahead too far, but I feel like things are going really well," she says. "I'm playing solidly. It's probably not brilliant tennis-maybe three or four matches in there - but it's just grinding out the matches and being mentally tough and, as you keep winning, you get more confidence and can stay on the court longer.

"I really appreciate what I do much more. I enjoy it a lot more. In a way, I have matured. I know what I need to do. There's still a long way to go but it's definitely been a learning process. In a way, I'm grateful it [the struggles] happened."

The next three-month cycle is another important one in Erakovic's career. If she can string more wins together, it will continue on the upward trend. If not, she will need to re-evaluate.

The rankings will tell her how she is going - not that she will check - as will her bank balance.

"Trust me, my bank balance isn't that great but it's a work in progress," she laughs.

So is her tennis game.