adminAUCKLAND. — Zimbabwe’s Cara Black is a working mom. The 34-year-old is back on the women’s professional tennis circuit after having a baby and says that it is tough to be away from her 19-month-old son as she pursues more Grand Slam glory.Former world women’s tennis doubles No. 1 Black says that while she misses her 19-month-old son when she is away on tour, she must remain focused to meet her professional goals.
Black will play with India’s Sania Mirza in 2014. Speaking to Sportstar, Black says, “It is really tough to be away from him. But, well, this is a demanding circuit and you have to be at your best right through. There is absolutely no scope to be complacent. And for me there is no better feeling than winning a Grand Slam title.
I realised what I missed while being away from tennis when I had to take a break to be blessed with the kid. It was difficult to think of life without tennis.” Black will be partnering with India’s Sania Mirza next season. The two won back to back titles at the end of this year and were training in the off-season at Sania’s own tennis academy in Hyderabad.
“Sania is an incredible player and I am very keen to win a Grand Slam with her. Exactly for this reason, we have decided to train together before the next month’s Australian Open. Not many doubles teams across the world can afford this sort of privilege,” says Black even as she is amazed with the world-class facilities at the SMTA.
Meanwhile, most eyes at next week’s ASB Classic in Auckland will be on Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic but the doubles draw has the pedigree to pull some attention away from the big guns.
While the singles field of the Auckland tournament has been trumpeted as one of its strongest ever, the doubles will feature three of the world’s top 10 players.
There will also be some Kiwi interest, with Marina Erakovic renewing her successful partnership with Zimbabwe’s Black, who last year joined Anastasia Rodionova to win the tournament.
But Erakovic and Black – who finished runners-up at three WTA tournaments in 2013 – will have their work cut out for them at Stanley St. World No. 1 Roberta Vinci heads the doubles field, along with French Open champion Katarina Srebotnik and US Open champion Andrea Hlaváková.
Other big names in the draw could include Ivanovic, Williams, multiple Grand Slam champion Lucie Hradecka, and last year’s finalist Julia Goerges.
“It’s looking like we are going to have a very strong doubles field — it’s by far one of the best tour-level doubles fields I’ve seen,” said tournament director Karl Budge. “To have four of the world’s top-10 doubles players in the country, let alone on the court, is an absolute coup.”
The singles field has been boosted by a rising star of women’s tennis, with Croatia’s Ana Konjuh handed a wildcard. Konjuh, who yesterday celebrated her 16th birthday, enjoyed wins in the singles and doubles in the Australian Open main draw in 2013, while she also took out her second junior Grand Slam title at the US Open.
That win saw Konjuh decide to compete in only professional events, despite being eligible at junior tournaments for another two years. The world No. 259 also represented her nation at the Fed Cup, defeating Urszula Radwanska, and Croatia’s Fed Cup captain Iva Majoli has touted the teenager as a top-10 player within the next couple of years.
“We’re very excited to be able to offer Ana a wildcard into the ASB Classic,” Budge said. “She is a star in the making and we can’t wait to see her take to our centre court.” — Tennis Magazine-New Zealand Herald.
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