When Marina Erakovic first arrived in New Zealand, she couldn’t speak a word of English. But nearly 20 years later, she’s stepping out on to the tennis court to represent New Zealand in not one but two prestigious sporting events.
Speaking exclusively to New Zealand Woman’s Weekly from Wimbledon after finally being announced as part of the New Zealand Olympic team, the Kiwi number one and world number 49 says she’s at her happiest when representing her country.
“I’m so proud to be a Kiwi,” grins Marina (24), who moved here from Croatia at just six years of age. “To be honest, I don’t have much of a connection to Croatia. I started school in New Zealand, I made friends here and I started playing tennis here. My whole life’s been here! “It’s never crossed my mind to represent Croatia, ever. I’m a Kiwi,” she says firmly.
In order to give both Marina and her sister Julia a better life,her parents Mladen and Liliana packed up their life in Split, Croatia in 1994 and made the move to Auckland. “I know my parents sacrificed a lot for me. They’ve supported me in every type of way to help me to get to where I am – financially, travelling with me and especially when they came over from Croatia because they wanted better opportunities for my sister and me,” she says.
It’s the second time Marina will be representing New Zealand at the Olympic games (she made it to the first round in Beijing in 2008) and she admits there’s a special thrill when she dons the silver fern – something she thanks her parents for every single day. “We’re a really tight family and I couldn’t have done all this without them. I just hope one day I’ll be able to repay them somehow,” she says.
For Marina, the ultimate repayment goes without saying – the Wimbledon trophy and an Olympic gold medal would look quite nice sitting on the Erakovic mantelpiece. “That would be lovely,” she smiles. “But I am a realist. I just go into every event and do my best and compete. Of course I’d like to say I want to get a medal, but all I can do is step on the court and play that first match.”
Playing in both the Olympics and Wimbledon this year fulfils a childhood fantasy of Marina’s – a dream that originated in Auckland when she was just a teenager. “I started playing really seriously when I was 16 or 17, when I was at Glendowie College. Before then it was just something that was fun and I really enjoyed,” she says.
Before long, Marina was overseas more often than not, playing in tournaments against opponents twice her age. “But I had a really normal childhood, I think,” she muses. “I wasn’t one of those child prodigies or anything, I still had a life. I’m glad of the fact I didn’t have that sort of extreme upbringing.
“There were sacrifices though. When I was travelling heaps I’d have to cram a whole year’s school work into a month or two. It’s not like I could go out and have a great night and do any of that typical teenage stuff, I’d have to get up in the morning and train,” she laughs.
Those sacrifices have continued into her professional career, but Marina says she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It is hard sometimes, I’m always away from home. It’s close to nine months of the year I’m overseas, so keeping in touch with family and friends is really difficult. But I love it.”
For a professional athlete, Marina’s life is unusually well balanced; although tennis is the biggest thing in her life, she has other interests, including a dream to be a rock star. “Well, kind of,” she laughs. “I have a travel guitar, I take it everywhere. I try and learn a lot of rock songs. If I was in a band one day, that would be a dream come true!
“I’m doing a couple of business papers too. I just had my statistics exam – I had to do it in the hotel lobby with my coach as my supervisor, so I’m definitely busy!” The busyness is set to continue, with Marina playing in three tournaments before the Olympics begin. But while she’s focusing on her game, part of her is always thinking of home.
“To play for New Zealand, it’s such a terrific thing. I’m just glad all those years ago, my parents chose New Zealand!”
