Tennis: Thai star potential draw for tournament

Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan is on the wishlist for next year's Heineken Open tournament. Picture / Reuters

Former world top 10 Paradorn Srichaphan is on a list of hopefuls for next year's international open tournament in Auckland.

The Thai No 1 has yet to play the Heineken Open, but tournament director Graham Pearce is keen to have him for the January event.

"He is firmly on our radar screen," said Pearce. "He hasn't been here before, and I'm sure he would be a popular drawcard who would attract good local support given the number of Thais living in Auckland."

Srichaphan, ranked ninth in the world a couple of years ago, has slipped out of the top 50 but could be close to a return by the end of the week if he can continue his good form at the Thailand Open.

While not giving any names away yesterday, Pearce said some players had confirmed their entry for the ASB Bank Tennis Centre tournament.

"They are all names the public will know.

"We will have at least a couple of players from the world's top 20 and ensure there is a mix of players who have been before and some new faces."

The first release of confirmed entries will come at the open launch in early November.

Already out of the picture is whizz-kid Rafael Nadal, who has played Auckland for the past two seasons. As the second-best player in the world behind Roger Federer (who also played here on his way up), he will round off his Australian Open preparation in Sydney.

Andy Murray is another Pearce could target, but the Scot would need to get his ranking up from his current 109 to something closer to 75.

Defending champion Fernando Gonzalez, 18 on the ATP rankings, is another Pearce has his eye on.

One thing Pearce does know, however, is that the open will stay in its long-held spot in the second week of January.

Plans to move the Australian Open to a new date came to nothing when it was realised that even a one-week move would bring too many complications to the calendar.

A determination by the ATP to bring greater interest to doubles could have a spin-off for the open.

"There has been a lot of work by the tour to make doubles a better product," said Pearce. "They want more singles players playing doubles.

"Doubles are an important part of our game, and the ATP are trying to make them more relevant by upgrading the image and perhaps injecting more prizemoney."

Pearce will again have three wildcards in the singles draw. He will have discussions with New Zealand Tennis on how these might be distributed, but local players will be keen to press their claims.

Most will turn out in the revamped Caro Bowl inter-club competition, which starts tomorrow night, and in North Harbour's Chelsea Cup, which starts on Saturday.

Men's open

January 9-14, Auckland