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Published on October 9, 2007

Having slipped to 86 in the world, Tamarine must win a few matches here to secure her ranking among the top 100 as she has a total of 150 points to defend until the end of the season. Apart from reaching the final in this tournament last year, she won a challenger in Shanghai and also made it to the semi-final in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

"I don't want to lose, I don't want to drop down in the rankings but I'll have to face it no matter what the outcome is. My job is to go out there and do my best,'' said Tamarine who has never faced her Romanian opponent before.

The Thai-Romanian match is expected at around 7pm at the LTAT National Tennis Development Centre.

"She is a very dogged player and the court here will suit her game. I have to be patient and play each point prudently,'' said Tamarine who managed to move beyond the first round in only one out of her last four tournaments.

Provided that she is successful in the first round, Tamarine is likely to play favourite Venus Williams. "I will be especially motivated to play well against her as this is my home. It's a ball game and you never know what's going to happen,'' added the Thai, who has lost all five matches she has played against Williams.

Venus yesterday made a quiet visit to the venue to consult a trainer amid fears that she might pull out of the tournament because of a leg injury. But she insisted she was physically fine.

"I feel great. I'm really happy to be playing in Bangkok. I'm just going to see the trainer to make sure everything is OK, but I'm looking forward to a great week here in Thailand,'' said Williams who will play her first match with 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark tomorrow. The American beat the teen prodigy 6-4 6-4 in Memphis this year. World No 3 Jelena Jankovic arrives today, a day behind schedule after missing a flight from Frankfurt. The top seed will play her first round match with Chinese Yan Zi tomorrow.

In first round action yesterday, Severine Bremond of France committed a string of unforced errors and lost her match to Australian rising star Casey Dellacqua 2-6 4-6. Junior Wimbledon champion Urszula Radwanska of Poland trounced Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-0 6-3 in just 66 minutes.

In the last qualifying round, top seed Anne Kremer of Luxembourg beat Anda Perianu of Romania 6-2 2-6 6-2, Emilia Salerni Ma of Argentina defeated Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine 5-7 6-2 6-2 and Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia outlasted Kelly Liggan of Ireland 6-1 2-6 7-6 (7-3).

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation

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