Tennis: Hot Chilean adds spice to Auckland event

The man with the searing forehand, double Athens Olympic medallist Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, has been confirmed as a starter for the 2005 Heineken Open tennis tournament in Auckland in January.

Gonzalez, aged 24, will play in the Vodafone singles at the Heineken Open as the current Olympic doubles title holder and singles bronze medallist. In Athens, he teamed up with Nicolas Massu to win Chile's first gold medal in any sport, taking the doubles title over the German duo Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler.

Earlier that same day Gonzalez had won the bronze medal playoff against Taylor Dent (USA) 6-4 2-6 16-14. The final set took over two hours.

The Santiago native has a current ATP ranking of 21 equal, with a career high singles ranking of 13 in 2003. This year, Gonzalez won his fourth career singles title at Vina del Mar and helped Chile win the World Teams Championship. Another top event for Gonzalez was the Masters Series in Miami, where he reached the semis.

At Amersfoot, Holland, he made the final, then the semis of Bastad and the quarters of Marseille and Barcelona for a 42-win, 21-loss record in 2004.

He reached the quarters at Roland Garros in 2003 before losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in five sets, and was a quarter-finalist at the US Open in 2002.

"He is one of the most exciting players to watch as he always goes for his shots," said Heineken Open tournament director, Graham Pearce.

Gonzalez adds to the list of quality players already confirmed for the 2005 Heineken Open from January 10-15, including Guillermo Coria, Tommy Robredo and Dominik Hrbaty. The tournament will be the 50th anniversary of the professional event in Auckland, now called the Heineken Open.