Eleven players ranked inside the top 40 in the world have
been confirmed for the Heineken Open tennis tournament in
Auckland.
The eight seeds for the tournament on January 11-16 are all
inside the world's top 31, giving the Open unprecedented
depth, with the direct entry cutoff at 59th.
"This is a field with outstanding depth. We are going to be
entertained by a class field where there is no obvious winner
and the tantalising prospect of a significant number of
quality, hard fought, unpredictable matches," Open tournament
director Richard Palmer said today.
The quality of the field means that former world No 3 and
2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian, of Argentina, will
require a wildcard into the main draw because he has a
ranking of 65th. However, organisers say this will make him a
dangerous floater in the draw and seeded players will be wary
of him.
The top four seeds are all Spaniards, with Tommy Robredo
ranked at 16th, David Ferrer 18th, former world No 1 and 2003
French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 23rd and Nicolas
Almagro 26th. Between them they have a total of 33 ATP
(Association of Tour Professionals) Tour singles titles. The
remaining four seeds are 2008 Heineken Open champion Philipp
Kohlschreiber, of Germany, at 27th, Austria's Jurgen Melzer,
a newcomer to Auckland at 28th, regular visitor Juan Monaco,
of Argentina, at 30th, and Spain's Albert Montanes ranked
31st in the world. Organisers also today confirmed the
world's best doubles pairing of Americans Bob and Mike Bryan
will play in Auckland for the first time.
Collectively, they have won 114 doubles titles, including
seven Grand Slam events. The Bryans won six titles this year
from 11 finals appearances, highlighted by their win at the
Australian Open.
"The Bryans are something New Zealanders haven't seen before.
They are obviously top players, but it's the way they play
and their Rock 'n' Roll brand of tennis which will create an
atmosphere around the tournament," Palmer said.
