Finalist back for ASB Classic

Reuters

RETURN: Russian Elena Vesnina has confirmed her return for January's ASB Classic.

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Russian tennis ace Elena Vesnina has a soft spot for Auckland and needed no persuading that it was a good idea to once again begin her year at the ASB Bank Classic at Stanley Street.

This year's Classic runnerup and the now world No 22 was today confirmed as one of the drawcards for next January's tournament, the Russian admitting she had no hesitation accepting a start at an event that launched her best year on the WTA tour.

Speaking from Moscow where she is preparing for next week's Kremlin Cup tournament, the 23-year-old Russian stunner made it clear that Auckland had already become a tournament close to her heart - and not just because of her success on the courts there.

She made it all the way to her first WTA final in January where she was eventually beaten by top-10 countrywomen Elena Dementieva, the early success kick-starting a year in which she also made the final at New Haven, had victories over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Amelie Mauresmo, reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and made the doubles final at the French Open.

But for the popular Vesnina, Auckland is not just a pleasant tennis memory in a year that had a fair few of them.

"It's special there, it has a really nice atmosphere," she said today. "They try to cheer for both players, even if you're playing against the local player Marina Erakovic. They're cheering for good tennis, good rallies, so it's nice to play. You feel good on the court.

"It's nice weather too. It's so green there. I came straight from Moscow where it was very cold, minus 20 degrees, where there are no trees, no green and it's like a miracle to come to this country where everything is so green and so warm."

So, clean plus green equals keen with this Russian mover who climbed from a ranking of No 79 in the world when she lined up in Auckland to a position where she's now knocking on the top-20.

"I have very good feelings about Auckland," she added. "After this tournament I had a great year. I still think it's true that if you play good at your first tournament of the year you play well for the rest of the year.

"I'm really happy to come back. I like the atmosphere, I like the courts and I like the people there."

Vesnina ranked her run to the Auckland final, where she beat Aiko Nakamura, Nicole Vaidisova, Caroline Wozniacki and Anne Keothavong, alongside an identical result at New Haven as her big results of 2009. She also made the semifinals at Ponte Vedra and quarters in Dubai and Charleston.

In terms of individual matches, rolling then world No 7 Kuznetsova at Dubai and toppling Mauresmo in New Haven rated as her best results of the year, she said.

Making it deep into the year's second Slam was also a significant achievement. "Wimbledon's a great tournament with a great tradition and I like grass. That was the first time I made the round of 16 so I was very happy with that," she said.

Her appearance in the doubles final at Roland Garros with Victoria Azarenka also left an indelible memory. "It's my favourite Grand Slam tournament and we didn't expect to be in the final - it was just our third time together. So that two weeks in Paris was something special and something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

The Russian's main aim for 2010 is to stay healthy after injuries curtailed her programme somewhat in 2009., She says she has some things to work on physically and mentally over the off-season and also a couple of technical adjustments to make to her game.

Before that she's hopeful of finishing her 2009 programme with a solid performance at the Kremlin Cup which she said is "always something special" for Russian players.

But Vesnina wasn't sure if she could be any help in persuading Belgian great Justine Henin, who is launching a comeback to top tennis in 2010, to play in Auckland instead of Brisbane at the start of the new year.
Auckland tournament director Brenda Perry is hopeful of luring the former world No 1 and holder of seven Grand Slam singles titles to New Zealand, but is up against the Brisbane event as the Belgian ponders her leadup schedule to the Australian Open.

"I've played against her three times, but I don't know her very well," said Vesnina. "It's going to be great if she's coming back in Auckland. That would be really funny."

But, like most of the tennis world, Vesnina is excited about the diminutive Belgian re-entering the competitive arena after 18 months away from the game. Especially after Kim Clijsters capped her own fairytale return by claiming the US Open crown.

"It's going to be one of the strongest years for the WTA, with the Williams sisters, all the Russian girls and now the Belgian stars. It will be one of the strongest years for a long time."

Vesnina aims to keep to a similar schedule as this year which will see her have New Year at home in Russia and make the long haul to Auckland on January 1, arriving in time for a few days' preparation before the tournament starts on January 4.

Dementieva will not be back to defend her title, but Vesnina says she intends asking around her Russian colleagues at the Kremlin Cup to see who else is looking to start their year in Auckland.

"It's a long trip, and maybe I can ask someone to come on the same flight as me so it's not so lonely," she said.
Already confirmed for the $US220,000 Auckland tournament are world No 1 doubles and multi-Grand Slam winning pair of Cara Black (Zimbabwe) and Liezel Huber (US), with more major player announcements expected in the next few weeks.