By TERRY MADDAFORD
Doubles, so often the poor cousin at major tennis tournaments, will provide its own excitement at the women's international at Stanley St next week.
While the ASB Classic singles winner will pocket $US16,000 ($36,000), the doubles winners get just $US2250 each, but there is the promise of some excellent matches before the cash is handed over.
Last season's winners, Cara Black (Zimbabwe) and France's Alexandra Fusai, will be back, but tournament director Richard Palmer will not know until Sunday's sign-in whether they will defend their title.
"We won't know until after the players have signed in just who is going to play and what the pairings will be," Palmer said. "But the indications are that it will be a particularly strong field."
American Corina Morariu, who won seven doubles titles last year, including Wimbledon, is ranked sixth on the Sanex WTA doubles list.
Paola Suarez (Argentina) has won 15 doubles crowns, including five this year. She was a finalist at the French Open.
Black has played in four WTA tournament finals, including this year's US Open, and Fusai has won six doubles titles.
The tournament singles second seed, Barbara Schett (Austria), is also an accomplished doubles player, as is top seed Sandrine Testud (France), who has three titles.
Four other Auckland-bound players, Lilia Osterloh (US), Italian Rita Grande, Pavlina Nola (Bulgaria) and Cristina Torrens-Valero (Spain), have all won WTA doubles titles.
With only 16 pairings to play - two will come from the eight-strong qualifying tournament - the doubles at Stanley St will be a tough competition.
Top junior Maria Emilia Salerni (Argentina) is already guaranteed a place in the doubles draw. She will have either Leanne Baker or Shelley Stephens as her partner.
That decision will be made after this morning's shootout between the Kiwi pair.
The tournament proper starts on Monday, after the weekend qualifying tournament.
Tennis: Women's doubles promise to thrill
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