This year's Wimbeldon finalist David Nalbandian and former world No 1 Gustavo Kuerten are the major drawcards for January's Heineken Open tennis tournament in Auckland.
Brazilian Kuerten, affectionately known as Guga by his legion of fans at home, was the world's No 1 ranked player at the end of 2000 andNo 2 at the end of 2001.
Kuerten has won three French Open titles and over US$13 million ($26.47 million) in prizemoney.
"This is a huge coup for the Heineken Open. Having a player who is in the prime of his career and capable of beating anyone on the ATP tour cannot be understated," tournament director Graham Pearce said.
Kuerten is a proven hardcourt performer with over 20 tournament wins on hardcourts last year.
He was the first South American to finish No 1 in the history of ATP rankings but has slipped down the rankings after a long injury break earlier this year.
"Kuerten has fully recovered from his early season injuries as was evidenced with his winning the 2002 Brazil Open in September followed by reaching the final in Lyon last month and the Paris Masters doubles final last week," Pearce said.
The Heineken Open proved a stepping stone to Grand Slam success for Argentina's Nalbandian, a quarterfinalist in Auckland this year before going on the reach the Wimbledon finalwhere he was beaten by world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
The 20-year-old from Cordoba, who finished this year at a career high No 12 on the ATP Champions Race, is likely to be one of the top seeds at the Heineken Open which will be played from January 6-11.
Nalbandian has won two singles titles this year -- the first on clay at Estoil in Portugal (his first career title) and the second on carpet at Basel in Switzerland.
His Wimbledon effort was all the more remarkable considering he had never previously played in a senior grass court tournament.
