New Zealand tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic has risen 22 spots to 63 in the world rankings after a runner-up finish at the US$220,000 (NZ$266,000) WTA event in Quebec City, Canada, yesterday.


Marina Erakovic
The 23-year-old, who was beaten 4-6 6-1 6-0 by Czech sixth seed Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova in the final, started the year ranked 324 in singles after struggling with serious hip and wrist injuries in 2009 and 2010.

But a consistent run of good form has her approaching her career-high ranking of 49, achieved in 2008 on the back of two WTA semifinal appearances, an ITF title, and good performances at the grand slam events including a third round appearance at Wimbledon.

''I'm feeling more comfortable with my game with every match, I'm learning more about my strengths and areas I need to work on in certain match situations,'' she said yesterday from Quebec.

''I'm feeling much more comfortable at this level with these players, and I think I have a game which can win me a lot of matches. So I feel like I'm going in the right direction.''

Erakovic has bolted to the brink of the top 50 after three ITF titles and several top performances in WTA tournaments, including a career-best win over world No 4 Victoria Azarenka in reaching the quarterfinals at Stanford.

Her run in Quebec saw her reach a WTA final for the first time, and boosted her season earnings to more than $US200,000.

The Aucklander will play three tournaments in Europe before returning home in November for a break.

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