Maricris Fernandez starts her comeback this Tuesday when the Holcim-ITF Women’s Circuit Week 1 is served at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Fernandez, who won the inaugural staging of this event in 1998, is upbeat on her chances in the $10,000 Grade 4 event which she is using as a preparation for her campaign in the coming Laos Southeast Asian Games.

The 30-year-old former RP No. 1, who earned a wildcard berth, yesterday said she is not intimidated by the younger participants and added that she’s confident of her chances.

“Experience is going to be on my side. I think they have more to lose than I do,” said Fernandez, who is currently based in Los Angeles and will see action on Philippine soil after seven years of absence.

Her return was initiated by Philta who named her a member of the women’s tennis squad to the SEAG.

“It’s a second chance. It’s been a while and I figured that I can still help the team,” she said.

Her opponent will be known after the draw which was scheduled on Monday.

Also earning main draw wildcards were sisters Anna Clarice and Anna Christine Patrimonio and Fil-American Riza Zalameda.

Joining them in the main draw is another former RP No. 1, Czarina Mae Arevalo, who picked up a qualifier’s berth by besting Taiwanese Lee Pei-chi, 6-0, 6-1.

Arevalo scraped past Germany’s Katherina Lehnert, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, last Sunday , a day that saw Filipinas Marinel Rudas, Shannin Olivarez, Marianne De Guzman, and Marian Jade Capadocia crash out.

Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey, with an ITF ranking of 315, is currently the top seed of the event followed by Lee Ye-ra and Yoo Mi of Korea. Defending champion Lavinia Tananta of Indonesia will not defend her crown.

Forty ITF ranking points are staked for the champion netter, while 30 and 20 markers are allocated for the runner-up and semifinalists, respectively.