Tennis: Russians coming, armed with rackets

The Russian invasion continues to grow, with world No 39 Vera Douchevina the latest player to be confirmed for the women's tournament at Auckland in January.

The highly promising Douchevina, who turned 19 last month, will be seeded as high as fifth when the ASB Classic final field is released today.

After starting the year ranked 64th, the Russian quickly climbed the rankings. In the Australian Open last January, she reached the fourth round after beating Jill Craybas, ninth seed and fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva - who today could be a surprise entry for the Classic - and German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, before losing to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Douchevina continued her good form on a variety of surfaces, reaching the quarter-finals on clay at Strasbourg, where she beat fourth-seed Shinobu Asagoe in the first round.

Her best result on grass came in the tier-two Eastbourne tournament where, after qualifying, she beat Katarina Srebotnik in the first round. She produced an upset win over world No 3 Amelie Mauresmo in the next, followed by further wins over Marion Bartoli and, in the semifinals, Roberta Vinci. She lost the final to Kim Clijsters 5-7, 0-6.

Those results helped to push her ranking to a career-high 31 in July.

Douchevina also had a strong year in doubles as her ranking, which started the year off the radar, come down to her current 45.

She and Israeli teenager Sharhar Peer, who reached the quarter-finals of the ASB Classic this year after coming through qualifying, made the doubles quarter-finals at the French Open.

They also reached the semifinals in Seoul, and Douchevina combined with Dinara Safina to reach the semifinals in Moscow.

She also found time to play in the Russian Fed Cup team.

As a junior, Douchevina reached the 2003 French Open final, losing to Groenefeld, and won Wimbledon 2002, beating Russian star Maria Sharapova in the final on her way to ending the year as the world's No 2 junior.

Tournament director Richard Palmer will receive his final entry list from the WTA this morning.

He has yet to allocate his two wildcards for the Classic, which starts at the ASB Bank Tennis Centre on January 2 after qualifying on December 31-January 1. He might have some indication of where the wildcards will go later today.

VERA DOUCHEVINA

Born: Khimki, Russia
Age: 19
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 73kg
Turned pro: 2003

PRIZEMONEY

Year-to-date: US$271,845
Career: US$510,310
Best ranking: 31
Russian Fed Cup Team, 2005.