1 Jan 2011

No joy for NZ teens in first round of Classic qualifying

5:34 pm on 1 January 2011

None of the New Zealand teenage hopefuls vying for places in the main draw of the Auckland women's tennis Classic have made it through their first round qualifying matches.

First up, Canterbury's Leela Beattie lost in straight sets in the first round of qualifying, the 16-year-old defeated 6-2 6-4 by Italy's Corinna Dentoni.

17-year-old Katherine Westbury took frequent Auckland visitor Jill Craybas of the USA to three sets, winning the first before going down in the last two, while 15-year-old Emily Fanning lost 6-2 6-2 Great Britain's Katie O'Brien.

All three of the New Zealand women were wildcard entries for the qualifying draw.

In a quirk of the draw, the four qualifiers have been drawn against each other in two other matches.