If Robbie Koenig had his way, he would play next year's Heineken Open as a New Zealander.
Minutes after he and fellow South African David Adams won the doubles title with a three-set victory over Czechs Tomas Cibulec and Leos Friedl on Saturday, Koenig said he would love tomove to New Zealand to live.
"I'm at a stage in life where I really mean that," he said, as he and Adams celebrated their 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3 win - their second in only four ATP tournaments as a partnership.
"I have one child and another soon to be born. I love it here and would love to come and live - by the end of this year if possible."
The New Zealand Davis Cup team would surely welcome such a player, but the three-year residential restriction is a problem.
In a match which took exactly the same time that Gustavo Kuerten needed to dispose of Dominik Hrbaty in yesterday's singles final - 1h 57m - Adams and Koenig turned in a no-frills exhibition to ensure Adams' 19th tour title and edge him closer to winnings of US$2.5 million.
With Adams and Friedl broken once each, the first set was decided in a tie-breaker in which Friedl sent down the only ace ofthe match. Adams was broken for a second time in the sixth game of the secondset, which the Czechs closed out 6-3.
Breaks were traded in the early games of the third set - Friedl, Koenig and Cibulec all failing to hold serve - before the South Africans served it out.
On a day in which the singles final should have been played, the doubles offered some variety between the four singles quarter-finals and two semifinals, the second of which was delayed until 5pm as tournament drawcard Kuerten called for a longer break.
In victory, Adams and Koenig again called on all their experience to win. In three of their four matches, they were taken to three sets.
