KEY POINTS:
Name three great Canadian tennis players. Okay, name one.
Still struggling? That's probably because the list is about as extensive as the one for great New Zealand players.
Much like New Zealand with Marina Erakovic, though, Canada does have one player to pin its hopes on - fast-rising
21-year-old Aleksandra Wozniak, the fourth seed at this year's ASB Classic.
The parallels with Erakovic are striking. Wozniak began last year ranked 130 and ended it ranked 34, a rise of 96 places that mirrored Erakovic's rise from 161 to 60.
The pair actually met twice during the year, Wozniak taking out the first meeting at Indian Wells and Erakovic the second in the Netherlands.
Wozniak, though, has something Erakovic doesn't - a WTA title.
The Canadian's shock victory as a qualifier at Stanford in July, where she beat Serena Williams in the semis and Marion Bartoli in the final, was big news back in Quebec.
Her home town of Blainville re-named itself Wozniakville for 24 hours and awarded her the key to the city.
"That was pretty cool," she said of the recognition. "I am proud of representing my country on the professional tour."
The first Quebec woman ever and the first Canadian in 20 years to win a WTA title - the other four all came between 1986 and 1988 - Wozniak says she "definitely" relates to Erakovic as the banner bearer for the game in this country.
"Here it's Marina, Marina, she is keeping it alive in New Zealand."
Like so many modern female players, Wozniak is a product of her father's creation.
Her father Antoni, a former Polish soccer international who emigrated to Canada in 1984, coached Wozniak from the age of three.
"He had a good vision as an athlete and he learned about tennis through videos and reading books, that is how he made me," she said.
Unlike several other high-profile players who have fallen out with their coach parents, Wozniak says her relationship with her father, who still coaches her but doesn't travel with her, is still strong.
"The best support you can get is from your parents. But obviously it depends on the family, how much pressure you get from them. But for me it is all good."
Although she said her success last year stemmed from finding more stability in her personal life, she was light on specifics.
"Just life in general, personal matters - it helped out my tennis and obviously my mind on the court. We are human, not only tennis players."
Powerfully-built with an all-court game, Wozniak says her mental approach is crucial to her success.
"I have to play one point at a time and stay mentally focused on my match, on the present, and not be distracted by other things."
This is her second appearance at the Classic, following an exit in the second round of qualifying in 2006.
Being Canada's most-famous tennis player hasn't prevented her from being mistaken for Danish teenager Caroline Wozniaki - the tournament's second seed.
"Oh yeah, that happens all the time," she said after a TVNZ cameraman began an interview by calling her Caroline. That probably wouldn't happen in Blainville, one suspects.
