One of the most consistent players on the ATP circuit, Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, has been confirmed for January's men's Open in Auckland.
The world No 20 will be hoping to better his quarter-final appearance of last summer, following a year that saw him win one title, makethe semifinals of two tournaments and the quarters of six other events.
Three of the quarters were at Masters Series events in Miami and Rome, where Chela beat Andy Roddick but lost to Fernando Gonzalez at Indian Wells.
Making the quarters at Miami and Indian Wells proved that the Argentine is more than just a claycourt player, and that he can than handle fast servers as well. At the 2007 Heineken Open he was a quarter-finalist, beating Nicolas Mahut in the first round and Nicolas Massu in the second before falling to Mardy Fish in two tiebreaks.
Chela is the third top 20 player to sign for the Open and enters the tournament playing at the top of his game.
Tournament director Graham Pearce said Chela enjoyed the Auckland environment and organisers looked forward to seeing him competing along with his vocal Argentinian supporters.
Chela has a career-high ranking of 15, which he achieved in August 2004, and has finished in the top-40 rankings for the sixth consecutive year. His career prizemoney is just under US$4.5 million ($5.9 million).
