Tennis: Million-dollar incentive at top NZ tennis matches

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Prizes worth more than a million New Zealand dollars will be paid at the international tournaments in Auckland in January.

For the first time, more than US$400,000 will be at stake for players in the Heineken Open, from January 12 to 17.

The women's ASB Classic, from January 5 to 10, will offer US$140,000.

"It will be a record payout," Auckland Tennis chief executive Graham Pearce said yesterday.

"For many years it has been the biggest prizemoney sport in New Zealand. Only golf's Clearwater Classic has topped that, but that was a tournament supported by the PGA, not a go-it-alone New Zealand event."

The winner of the men's singles will receive more than US$50,000, and the winner of the women's classic will get US$22,000.

Pearce will today announce three "name" players for this summer's Open.

"That will include at least one from the ATP's top 20," Pearce said.



He would not be drawn on who will be at the ASB Bank Tennis Centre for the Open, but said approaches had been made to defending champion Gustavo Kuerten.

"You always like to have your defending champion back."

Pearce said early indications suggest all players in the 32-strong main draw, apart from the three wildcards, would come from the world's top 65.

"One of the wildcards into the main draw is likely to go to a New Zealand player. The four wildcards in the qualifying draw will all go to New Zealanders."

The first two rounds of qualifying will be played at the More FM North Harbour complex on January 10 and 11.

The third round, of four matches, will be played on the first day of the tournament.

Richard Palmer, director of the women's tournament, is being frustrated by agents as he tries to confirm his list of players.

"It is not unusual," Palmer said. "I know we will have a good field, but it would be nice to have some names."

He has to wait until the field for the tier-three tournament on the Gold Coast, scheduled for the same dates, is known before he can confirm players.

"As a tier-three they are guaranteed [by the WTA] either one top-10 player or three from the top 20," Palmer said.

"As a tier-four tournament we don't have the same guarantees."

The field will be known by November 26, and Palmer is confident of matching last summer's field when he had a dozen top-50 players.



Some of the world's best have ruled themselves out by committing to tournaments elsewhere, but top-10 players including Lindsay Davenport, Chanda Rubin and Elena Dementieva remain possibilities, as do top 20-ranked players Vera Zvonareva, Conchita Martinez, Meghann Shaughnessy and Jelana Dokic.

Palmer said popular defending champion Eleni Daniilidou, still in the WTA's top 30, was a distinct possibility, as was Russian regular Elena Likhovtseva and her sometimes doubles partner Cara Black.

New Zealand sisters Eden and Paula Maramara will be in line for wildcards in the singles and doubles. They will join Leanne Baker, Ilke Gers, Shelley Stephens and Marina Erakovic in that queue.

Tickets for both tournaments and the scheduled exhibition match between John McEnroe and Pat Cash on February 3 will go on sale to affiliated members this week and to the public on November 20.

The exhibition match has yet to be confirmed, but Pearce expects that to be done "sooner rather than later."