Marina Erakovic

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Marina Eraković

Erakovic at the 2009 ASB Classic
Country  New Zealand
Residence Auckland, New Zealand
Born (1988-03-06) 6 March 1988
Split, SFR Yugoslavia
(now Croatia)
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro 2005
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US$1,576,858
Singles
Career record 279–166
Career titles 1 WTA, 12 ITF
Highest ranking No. 39 (7 May 2012)
Current ranking No. 50 (3 February 2014)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (2009, 2012, 2014)
French Open 3R (2013)
Wimbledon 3R (2008, 2013)
US Open 1R (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013)
Doubles
Career record 147–103
Career titles 7 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 25 (24 June 2013)
Current ranking No. 34 (3 February 2014)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
French Open QF (2013)
Wimbledon SF (2011)
US Open QF (2008)
Last updated on: 3 February 2014.

Marina Erakovic (Croatian: Marina Eraković) (born 6 March 1988 in Split) is a Croatian-born professional tennis player from New Zealand. Her career high Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings are World No. 39 for singles, achieved on 7 May 2012, and World No. 25 in doubles, achieved on 24 June 2013. Erakovic is the only New Zealand player in the top 100 of either the WTA or the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). She has won one WTA singles title.

Personal life

Erakovic was born in Split, Croatia, Yugoslavia to a Croatian family, and emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand, in 1994 as a 6-year-old with her family. She attended St Thomas's Primary School and Glendowie College in Auckland.

Junior career

Erakovic teamed with Michaëlla Krajicek to win the 2004 US Open junior doubles title, and Victoria Azarenka to win the 2005 Australian Open junior doubles title. Erakovic was the runner-up in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon junior doubles with Monica Niculescu.

Professional career

2005–2007

In 2005 and 2006, Erakovic won five International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles titles. She was a wildcard entry in the 2005 ASB Classic in Auckland where she lost in the second round. She lost in the second round of qualifying for the 2006 French Open.

In 2007 Erakovic lost in the second round of qualifying for the Australian Open, the first round of qualifying for the French Open, the first round of qualifying for Wimbledon, and the third round of qualifying for the US Open. She was a wildcard entry in the 2007 ASB Classic where she lost in the second round.

2008

Erakovic received a wild card into the 2008 ASB Classic where she defeated World No. 67 American Ashley Harkleroad in the second round 7–6, 7–5, and defeated the top seed and World No. 22 Russian Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 2–6, 7–6 in a quarterfinal.[1] She lost in the semifinals to World No. 90 Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï 6–3, 7–5.[2] Erakovic was the first New Zealander to reach the quarterfinals at this WTA event since Belinda Cordwell in 1990.[3][4]

Erakovic lost in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open.

At the French Open, World No. 80 Erakovic defeated World No. 56 Tathiana Garbin in the first round 6–7, 6–3, 6–3 before losing to third-seeded Jelena Janković in the second round 6–2, 7–6. She was the first New Zealand-raised player to make the main draw of a Grand Slam singles tournament since 1993.[5]

At Wimbledon, Erakovic played her second career Grand Slam singles tournament.[6] She defeated Krajicek in the first round and Julia Görges in the second round before losing to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the third round 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. She was the first New Zealand player to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Belinda Cordwell in 1988.[7]

Erakovic played for New Zealand at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she lost in the first round to wildcard Ayumi Morita from Japan.

At the US Open, Erakovic lost in the first round to Pauline Parmentier of France 6–3, 7–6 but reached the doubles quarterfinals with Jelena Kostanić Tošić. This was the first time a New Zealander had reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament in either singles or doubles since 1994.[8]

2009

In the 2009 ASB Classic Erakovic won a match in her home event for the first time, defeating Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain in the first round 7–5, 6–4. In the second round, she lost to top-seed Elena Dementieva of Russia 6–2, 6–3.

At the 2009 Australian Open, in her first participation in the event, Erakovic advanced to the second round by beating Petra Cetkovská 6–4, 7–5. In the second round she was defeated by Lucie Šafářová 6–1, 3–6, 9–7.

Due to an ongoing hip injury, Erakovic missed the 2009 French Open.[9] She also withdrew from Wimbledon with the same problem.[10]

2010

Erakovic competed in singles and doubles at the 2010 ASB Classic, losing in the first round in both events.[11][12] She then competed at the 2010 Australian Open, losing to eventual semi-finalist Li Na in the first round. In doubles she and partner Casey Dellacqua lost to 11th seeded Russian pair Alla Kudryavtseva and Ekaterina Makarova in the first round.

Erakovic's next tournament was the 2010 PTT Pattaya Open where she again lost in the first round of the singles, however she and partner Tamarine Tanasugarn won the doubles title, Erakovic's fourth.[13]

2011

Erakovic started her year with the 2011 ASB Classic in Auckland where she received a wildcard entry. She lost in the first round against Elena Vesnina 2–6, 2–6.

Erakovic then competed on the ITF where she won three titles.

In the 2011 Australian Open she defeated Irena Pavlovic in the first round of qualifying draw, but lost round 2 to Kurumi Nara.

Erakovic took part in the 2011 French Open where she won 3 straight matches in the qualifying draw against Ajla Tomljanovic, Kurumi Nara and Petra Cetkovská, qualifying her for the main draw. In the first round of the main draw she lost 6–2 4–6 4–6 to Arantxa Rus.

Erakovic qualified for Wimbledon, where she beat Kai-Chen Chang in the first round, her first singles Grand Slam win since the Australian Open in 2009. She lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the second round.

At the Bank of the West Classic, Erakovic had the biggest win of her singles career, defeating top seed and then World No.4[14] Victoria Azarenka in the second round to reach the quarterfinals.

In the US Open she was defeated in the first round by Mirjana Lučić after coming through 3 rounds of qualification.

Following the US Open, Erakovic made her first WTA final at the Challenge Bell in Quebec City. To reach the final she defeated Caroline Garcia, Irina Falconi, top seed Daniela Hantuchová and defending champion Tamira Paszek. In the final she lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová.

2012

At the Australian Open, Erakovic beat Irena Pavlovic in the first round and lost 6–3, 6–7, 3–6 to Christina McHale in the second round. In the doubles she and partner Chuang Chia-jung lost in the first round.

In May at the Italian Open, Erakovic (ranked World No.41) had one of the biggest wins of her singles career defeating World No.13 Sabine Lisicki in the first round.[15]

She reached the second round of Mercury Insurance Open, Carlsbad losing to Dominika Cibulková, 2–6 4–6.[16]

She missed all 2012 tournaments after the US Open due to a right hip injury.

2013

Erakovic at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships

Erakovic began her year at the 2013 ASB Classic, where she was defeated by Jamie Hampton in the second round of singles, and with Heather Watson as her partner, was defeated in the quarter-finals of the doubles.

Erakovic lost in the first round of the 2013 Australian Open to Alizé Cornet.

In February she won her first WTA singles tournament at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis, Tennessee.[17] In doing so, she became the first New Zealander to win a WTA tour singles title since Belinda Cordwell won the 1989 WTA Singapore Open.[18] Watson suffered a bout of glandular fever in March, keeping her away from the circuit for two months, and Erakovic subsequently teamed up with former World No. 1 Cara Black. They had immediate success together, reaching the finals of three European tournaments, although unable to win any.

At the 2013 French Open, Erakovic upset 16th seed Dominika Cibulková in the second round[19] before losing to 17th seed Sloane Stephens in the third round,[20] thus missing out on a fourth round match against defending champion Maria Sharapova. She and Black made it to the quarter-finals of the doubles, losing in three sets to second seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

She was beaten by Laura Robson in the third round at Wimbledon, after being a set up and serving for the match. Seeded 11th, she and Black were beaten in the second round of the doubles by Eugenie Bouchard and Petra Martic, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4).

At the US Open she lost her first round singles match to María Teresa Torró Flor 6-0, 6-4, while she and Black, this time seeded 13th, lost in a marathon third round doubles match, again to the second seeds (this time Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina).

Seeded sixth, she reached the final of the Challenge Bell in Quebec City for the second time, defeating Mallory Burdette, Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová (thus avenging her defeat by that player in the 2011 final), Ajla Tomljanovic and Christina McHale before losing in straight sets to Lucie Šafářová, 6-4, 6-3.

Erakovic lost in qualifying in both the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and the China Open in Beijing. Her doubles partnership with Black had now ended, as Black joined forces with Sania Mirza to win both those tournaments and announced that the new partners intended to stay together through 2014. Although Erakovic was drawn to play doubles in Beijing with Elena Vesnina, she withdrew from that competition and all tournaments for the remainder of the year after the death of her grandmother.

2014

At her home tournament in Auckland, the 2014 ASB Classic, Erakovic was reunited briefly with Cara Black in the doubles. Seeded second, they lost in the first round to local wild-card entry Sacha Jones and Abigail Guthrie. [21] Erakovic then lost to Lauren Davis in the first round of singles. [22] She also lost in the first round of both singles and doubles at the Hobart International, the latter to eventual winners Monica Niculescu and Klára Zakopalová when top seed with partner Zheng Jie.

At the Australian Open, Erakovic beat 21st seed Sorana Cîrstea in the first round of the singles, but lost to Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas 6-4, 6-0, in the second round. She and Zheng Jie were seeded 10th in the doubles, but lost 6-3, 6-3 in the first round to the French pair of Alizé Cornet and Caroline Garcia. At the Open GDF Suez in Paris, Erakovic again lost in the first round of both doubles (when paired with Petra Martic) and singles, trailing 3-6, 0-3 in the latter against Daniela Hantuchová before retiring with a back injury.

Significant finals

Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 2013 Madrid Clay Zimbabwe Cara Black Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová		 2–6, 4–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Tier II / Premier (0–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (1–3)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. September 18, 2011 Challenge Bell, Quebec City, Canada Carpet (i) Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 6–4, 1–6, 0–6
Runner-up 2. February 25, 2012 Memphis International, Memphis, United States Hard (i) Sweden Sofia Arvidsson 3–6, 4–6
Winner 1. February 23, 2013 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, Memphis, United States Hard (i) Germany Sabine Lisicki 6–1, retired
Runner-up 3. September 15, 2013 Challenge Bell, Quebec City, Canada Carpet (i) Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová 4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 14 (7 titles, 7 runners-up)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–1)
Tier II / Premier (1–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (6–6)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. May 24, 2008 İstanbul Cup, Istanbul, Turkey Clay Slovenia Polona Hercog United States Jill Craybas
Belarus Olga Govortsova		 1–6, 2–6
Winner 1. June 21, 2008 Ordina Open, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Netherlands Michaëlla Krajicek Latvia Liga Dekmeijere
Germany Angelique Kerber		 6–3, 6–2
Winner 2. October 4, 2008 Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan Hard United States Jill Craybas Japan Ayumi Morita
Japan Aiko Nakamura 		 4–6, 7–5, [10–6]
Winner 3. October 26, 2008 Fortis Championships Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard Romania Sorana Cîrstea Russia Vera Dushevina
Ukraine Mariya Koryttseva 		 2–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Winner 4. February 14, 2010 PTT Pattaya Open, Pattaya City, Thailand Hard Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn Russia Anna Chakvetadze
Russia Ksenia Pervak		 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 2. July 24, 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, Portorož, Slovenia Hard Russia Anna Chakvetadze Russia Maria Kondratieva
Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová		 4–6, 6–2, [7–10]
Runner-up 3. January 8, 2011 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand Hard Sweden Sofia Arvidsson Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik		 3–6, 0–6
Winner 5. October 16, 2011 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria Hard (i) Russia Elena Vesnina Germany Julia Görges
Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld		 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 4. 14 January 2012 Moorilla Hobart International, Hobart, Australia Hard Chinese Taipei Chuang Chia-jung Romania Irina-Camelia Begu
Romania Monica Niculescu		 7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), [5–10]
Winner 6. July 16, 2012 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, United States Hard United Kingdom Heather Watson Australia Jarmila Gajdošová
United States Vania King 		7–5, 7–6(9–7)
Winner 7. August 25, 2012 Texas Tennis Open, Dallas, United States Hard United Kingdom Heather Watson Latvia Līga Dekmeijere
United States Irina Falconi		 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 5. May 11, 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain Clay Zimbabwe Cara Black Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová		 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 6. May 25, 2013 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France Clay Zimbabwe Cara Black Japan Kimiko Date-Krumm
South Africa Chanelle Scheepers		 4–6, 6–3, [12–14]
Runner-up 7. June 16, 2013 AEGON Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Zimbabwe Cara Black Australia Ashleigh Barty
Australia Casey Dellacqua		 5–7, 4–6

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 16 (12–4)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 6 March 2005 Warrnambool, Australia Grass Australia Daniella Dominikovic 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up 1. 13 March 2005 Benalla, Australia Grass China Yuan Meng 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Winner 2. 20 March 2005 Yarrawonga, Australia Grass Australia Emily Hewson 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Winner 3. 3 September 2006 Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands Clay Germany Andrea Petkovic 4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Winner 4. 15 October 2006 Melbourne, Australia Hard Australia Casey Dellacqua 6–1, 0–6, 6–4
Winner 5. 29 October 2006 Beijing, China Hard Russia Alla Kudryavtseva 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up 2. 29 July 2007 La Coruña, Spain Hard Portugal Neuza Silva 6–0, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up 3. 5 August 2007 Vigo, Spain Hard France Olivia Sanchez w/o
Winner 6. 14 October 2007 Rockhampton, Australia Hard Australia Sophie Ferguson 7–6(7–5), 7–5
Winner 7. 21 October 2007 Gympie, Australia Hard Australia Sophie Ferguson 6–4, 6–3
Winner 8. 9 February 2008 Mildura, Australia Grass Taiwan Chang Kai-chen 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 4. 17 February 2008 Berri, Australia Grass Australia Nicole Kriz 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(3–7)
Winner 9. 7 June 2008 Surbiton, England Grass United Kingdom Anne Keothavong 6–4, 6–2
Winner 10. 7 March 2011 Irapuato, Mexico Hard Slovenia Andreja Klepač 7–5, 6–4
Winner 11. 28 March 2011 Pelham, USA Clay Czech Republic Renata Voráčová 6–4, 2–6, 6–1
Winner 12. 4 April 2011 Jackson, USA Clay Croatia Ajla Tomljanović 6–1, 6–2

Doubles: 9 (6–3)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 29 October 2006 Beijing, China Hard United States Raquel Kops-Jones China Ji Chunmei
China Sun Shengnan		 2–6, 2–6
Winner 1. 30 June 2007 Padova, Italy Clay Estonia Maret Ani Germany Vanessa Henke
Germany Andrea Petkovic		 6–4, 6–4
Winner 2. 28 July 2007 La Coruña, Spain Hard United Kingdom Melanie South Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková
Germany Justine Ozga		 6–1, 4–6, 6–4
Winner 3. 15 December 2007 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard Romania Monica Niculescu Ukraine Yuliana Fedak
Russia Anna Lapushchenkova		 7–6(7–1), 6–4
Winner 4. 7 February 2008 Mildura, Australia Grass Australia Nicole Kriz Australia Monique Adamczak
Australia Christina Wheeler		 6–4, 6–4
Winner 5. 17 February 2008 Berri, Australia Grass Australia Nicole Kriz Australia Shannon Golds
Australia Emelyn Starr		 2–6, 7–6(7–4), [10–3]
Winner 6. 28 November 2009 Toyota, Japan Carpet Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn Japan Akari Inoue
Japan Akiko Yonemura		 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 2. 16 April 2010 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn Russia Vitalia Diatchenko
Greece Eirini Georgatou		 3–6, 7–5, [14–16]
Runner-up 3. 9 May 2010 Fukuoka, Japan Carpet Russia Alexandra Panova Japan Misaki Doi
Japan Kotomi Takahata		 4–6, 4–6

Singles Performance timeline

Tournament2005200620072008200920102011201220132014W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A Q2 Q1 2R 1R Q2 2R 1R 2R 3–5
French Open A Q2 Q1 2R A A 1R 1R 3R 3–4
Wimbledon A A Q1 3R A Q2 2R 2R 3R 6–4
US Open Q3 A Q3 1R A A 1R 1R 1R 0–4
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–3 1–1 0–1 1–3 2–4 4–4 1–1 12–17
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics Not Held 1R Not Held 1R Not Held 0–2
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells A A Q1 Q1 1R A A 1R 1R 0–3
Miami A A A 3R 1R A A 2R 1R 3–4
Madrid Not Held A A A 1R Q1 0–1
Beijing A A 1R A A A A A Q2 0–1
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai Not Tier I A A A NP5 A 0–0
Rome A A A A A A A 2R A 1–1
Canada A A A A A Q1 A A A 0–0
Cincinnati A A Not Held A A A A 2R 1–1
Tokyo A A A 1R A A A A Q2 0–1
Year end ranking 213 160 161 60 232 324 61 66 48

Doubles Performance timeline

Tournament2005200620072008200920102011201220132014W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 0–6
French Open A A A 1R A A A 2R QF 4–3
Wimbledon A A A 1R A 1R SF 3R 2R 7–5
US Open A A A QF A A 1R 1R 3R 5–4
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–3 0–1 0–2 4–3 2–4 6–4 0-1 16–18

References

  1. ↑ "Erakovic makes a great start to year". New Zealand Herald. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  2. ↑ "Erakovic goes down, Davenport into final". New Zealand Herald. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  3. ↑ "Erakovic through to quarters". New Zealand Herald. 2 January 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
  4. ↑ "Erakovic advances to quarter-finals". The Press. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2011. 
  5. ↑ NZPA (29 May 2008). "Tennis: Erakovic through to second round at Roland Garros". New Zealand Herald. 
  6. ↑ NZPA (21 June 2008). "Erakovic to play doubles partner at Wimbledon". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 June 2008. 
  7. ↑ NZPA (27 June 2008). "Erakovic eyes record after second round win". New Zealand Herald. 
  8. ↑ NZPA (1 September 2008). "Tennis: Erakovic into quarterfinals at US Open". New Zealand Herald. 
  9. ↑ "Hip Injury Still Pains Erakovic". 6 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009. 
  10. ↑ "Marina Erakovic Withdraws from Wimbledon". The New Zealand Herald. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  11. ↑ Deane, Steve (5 January 2010). "Too many errors dash hometown hopes". New Zealand Herald. 
  12. ↑ "Tennis: Erakovic's bad day at the office". New Zealand Herald. 5 January 2010. 
  13. ↑ NZPA (15 February 2010). "Erakovic wins doubles title in Thailand". New Zealand Herald. 
  14. ↑ "Erakovic topples world no 13 in Rome opener". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  15. ↑ "Tennis: Erakovic beats world No13 Lisicki". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 2012-05-16. 
  16. ↑ "Cibulkova Serves It Up, QFs Set In Carlsbad". Retrieved 2012-07-22. 
  17. ↑ "Erakovic wins maiden title". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  18. ↑ "Tournament win 'means a lot' – Erakovic". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2013-02-25. 
  19. ↑ Erakovic beat Cibulkova in French Open
  20. ↑ Erakovic falls to Stephens at French Open – The West Australian
  21. ↑ Jones bids farewell to tennis injuries
  22. ↑ Nervous Erakovic admits home pressures - New Zealand Herald

External links

Women's Tennis Association: Top ten Oceania female singles tennis players, as of 2 December 2013.
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