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Published on November 6, 2007

The veteran suffered an injury to her right ankle in Taiwan last week and was advised by a doctor to abstain from on-court practice with the tournament just three days away.

"I'm not supposed to hit balls but I'm allowed to work on my fitness in the gym. I don't feel much pain and will try to work on court on Wednesday and see how the injury reacts,'' said Tamarine, who will pair up with Danai Udomchoke.

"It might affect my game during the tournament. But I will try my best to win a berth in the Hopman Cup in Australia.''

Tamarine was told to put a flexible cast on her leg for training and also during matches.

In yesterday's draw, top-seeded Thailand were placed in a comparatively easy group along with South Korea and China. But second seed Taiwan were drawn in a tough pool containing Japan and Uzbekistan.

Taiwan are the biggest threat to Thailand in the battle for the slot in December's world mixed team event in Perth. Lu Yen-hsun, the highest-ranked player in the men's field at No 92, will team up with 133rd-ranked Hsieh Su-wei, the former doubles partner of Tamarine.

Japan, led by Kei Nishikori and Ayumi Morita, will be major contenders. The top team from each pool will advance to Sunday's final, with the winning country earning a trip to Perth.

 Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

 The Nation