The Brunswick News

People are already comparing her to the blond tennis goddess Anna Kournikova, and that's just fine with Ashley Harkleroad.

Now Harkleroad, a native of Flintstone, Ga., is just hoping to climb the same ladder of stardom on the United States Tennis Association Professional Women's Circuit.

"Who wouldn't want to be compared with Anna," said Harkleroad Tuesday, just after knocking off the No. 3 seed, Teryn Ashley, 6-1, 7-6, in an opening-round singles match at The Cloister Cup tournament on Sea Island. "I take that as a compliment. She's a very pretty girl with a lot of class."

But Harkleroad, who just turned 17 a couple of days ago and is ranked No. 259, says appearance may be her only resemblance to Kournikova, who has yet to break into the WTA victory circle.

"I feel like we're different players," said Harkleroad. "First, she's Russian and I'm American. It's nice to be compared to her when it comes to the looks, but we have completely different game styles."

Harkleroad, seeded just outside this tournament's top eight, began swatting tennis balls at age 4 in Flintstone, a tiny community in the upper northwest corner of the state just five miles from Chattanooga, Tenn. The town is so small it doesn't have a traffic light, but it does have tennis courts and that's where Harkleroad developed into one of the top junior players in the Southeast.

She started tournament competition at the age of 8 and attended Chattanooga Christian School until the ninth grade, when at age 14 she won the 1999 U.S. National Girls' 16 Clay Court Championship. That feat enabled her to receive a full scholarship to Florida's Saddlebrook Tennis Academy, near Tampa.

One year later, Harkleroad became America's top-ranked junior and in 2001, she reached the girls' singles semifinals at the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open, and won the girls' doubles title at Wimbledon.

"Playing in all the semifinals of the Grand Slam was a good experience," said Ashley. "It really helped me a lot."

Opting to turn professional at age 15, Harkleroad has been posting a winning record and making steady progress on the USTA circuit.

"I've made it to several finals and just try to focus on one match at a time," she said. "Everybody is good out here, even the juniors. And it's different every day. You can beat somebody one day and lose to them the next."

Until she turns 18, Harkleroad is restricted as to the number of USTA matches she can play. "This year, I'm eligible to play in 17 tournaments," she noted. "When I turn 18, I can play as many as I want. But I just need to play a lot of matches. If I do that, I believe my game will come -- it will get better. I'm not worried about getting points, just getting better. The points will come when I win."

Harkleroad said her game has been helped by her new coach of two weeks, Jose Luis Clerc, himself a former player on the ATP circuit. "I think he's improved my game 100 percent," she said. "I really think it will be a good year with him behind me."

Following the completion of The Cloister Cup -- her second-round match is Thursday -- Harkleroad will play in a tournament stop in Virginia, then take a couple of days off before heading for competition in Europe.

And what, with her busy schedule on the court, does Harkleroad have time for any social life?

"Not too much," she smiled. "I don't really have a boyfriend right now, but there are a couple of guys I kind of like. I'm still looking. I just stay so busy with tennis."

Wednesday's results: Harkleroad was one of eight players to advance into the second round in singles with victories Tuesday.

However, top seed Erika De Lone, ranked No. 135, was upset by Cory Ann Avants. After winning the first set 6-0, De Lone dropped the next two, 6-4, 6-4 to Avants, ranked No. 323.

Katy Robinette, who will work at The Cloister as an instructor this summer, lost 6-1, 6-0 to Michelle Faucher.