There will once again be a Latin feel to January's men's tennis Open.
The full list of direct acceptances was released yesterday with five Spaniards and four Argentinians in the initial 19-man Heineken Open field.
With another Argentine, Agustin Calleri, the first of the alternates - and assuch almost assured of a place in the draw - at least 10 of the 28-strong field will be Spanish speaking.
As well as the marquee names already announced, such as top seed Juan Martin Del Potro and 2007 champion David Ferrer, the tournament will be boosted by the likes of world No 17 Robin Soderling and No 18 Nicolas Almagro.
"To have four players in the top 20 is sensational," tournament director Richard Palmer said.
Given the particularly tough financial environment the tournament has had to operate in, Palmer was delighted the cut-off for direct acceptances was at world No 57 Serbian Victor Troicki.
Both of this year's finalists, defending champion Phillip Kohlschreiber and former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, will be back.
Crowd-pleasing Latvian Ernests Gulbis is also in the field, while other potential title threats include American Sam Querrey and Argentinian Juan Monaco.
The field includes six of the 11 first time title winners from this season.
