World No 16 Anastasia Myskina was last night confirmed as the second player from the WTA’s top 20 for January’s ASB Classic, The New Zealand Herald reports.

Speaking from her home in Moscow, and shivering as snow plummeted temperatures to —3C, Myskina said she was looking forward to the tournament and the chance to play Auckland for the first time.

“It is a good chance for me to prepare for the Australian Open,” said Myskina, 25, who in the past has played little before heading to Melbourne. “I have seen matches from the tournament on television and I’m sure it is a great tournament in a great country. I have heard it is beautiful.”

Myskina follows Frenchwoman Mary Pierce as the second Grand Slam winner to play in Auckland. Pierce won at Roland Garros in 2000 — Myskina four years later when she beat her countrywoman Elena Dementieva in the final.

The Classic promises to be a watershed tournament for Moscow-born Myskina as she hits the tournament trail after being plagued with injuries including a stress fracture in her foot and a troublesome elbow.

“The early part of 2006 was pretty good for me but lately I have had a lot of time off,” said Myskina. “But right now my fitness is a lot better.” She joins world No 18 Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) in the draw with Myskina likely to take the top seeding.

Off the court she is looking forward to spending some time boating and quickly took up tournament director Richard Palmer’s offer of a helicopter trip.

The Russian admits she does not know much about the country or the tournament, and although she saw a couple of games on television she has not really talked about the tournament much with her colleagues yet, apart from her friend Elena Likhovtseva, who has been and likes it a lot.

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