Auckland - Fitness issues from 2008 came back to haunt local hope Marina Erakovic as the New Zealander fell 6-2, 6-3 to top seed Elena Dementieva in the second round on Wednesday at the ASB Classic.

Erakovic, the number 60 who lost her last seven matches of 2008, needed treatment for abdominal and neck strains with a second-set injury timeout.

Olympic champion Dementieva bucked the upset trend after five of the eight seeds went out in the second round. The Russian faces a Thursday quarter-final with Israeli Shahar Peer.

Wellington - The New Zealand government, which has been reluctant so far to speak out on the conflict in the Middle East, issued a statement Wednesday saying it was "deeply worried by the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the continuing Israeli ground offensive."

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said that attacks on United Nations facilities, including schools, in the Gaza Strip were of grave concern and underlined the need for both sides to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

An official told on Monday that India is looking forward to play an extra Test during the upcoming tour of New Zealand to offset losses after the cancellation of matches against England and Pakistan.

Ratnakar Shetty, Chief administrative officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said, "We have requested New Zealand to accommodate an extra Test to the series. We are waiting for a response from them."

In the month of March-April India had planned to play Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in New Zealand.

Auckland - Olympic champion Elena Dementieva had to fight to stop a potential spoiler, erasing an early 5-1 lead in favour of Taiwan's Chan Yung-Jan Chan to post a 7-5, 6-3 victory on Tuesday at the ASB Classic.

Dementieva called her great escape "a tough match."

"She was on fire at the beginning and put a lot of pressure on me. It took me a while to get into the match," she said of her opponent.

The Russian world number four was joined as a straight-sets winner by second seed Caroline Wozniacki as the Dane crushed Italian qualifier Alberta Brianti 6-1, 6-0.

Wellington  - Four children died when fire gutted a house early Tuesday in the Auckland suburb of Mangere, the Fire Service said.

Two adults, identified as Misi Sau and his wife Fetu by the New Zealand Herald, and believed to be the parents, were badly burned trying to save the children and were reportedly hospitalized in critical condition.

The dead children were thought to be ages 15, 11, 9 and 2, the paper reported, citing a Fire Service officer as saying that all four were probably overcome by smoke.

Wellington - Four people died in a house