— Photo: Vivek Bendre

ALL SET: Players' representatives Michael Berrer and Rik de Voest at the draw of the Kingfisher Airlines tennis open.

MUMBAI: Tommy Robredo, World No.7 from Barcelona, is the only top-10 player in the men's singles draw of the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open 2006.

The Spaniard, a top-five player on the ATP Men's Tour this February, will be the biggest attraction of the Mumbai event, following the withdrawals of Radek Stepanek, World No.10, Fernando Gonzalez (12th), Nicholas Keifer (23rd), Fabrice Santoro and Greg Rusedski. The men's singles champion will bag $52,000 and 35 points.

Keifer and Santoro cited medical reasons for opting out, according to Gaurav Natekar, tournament director. Rusedski withdrew due to Davis Cup commitments, explained ATP Supervisor Ed Hardisty, who said that he would be fined. He had also pulled out of the Beijing Open last week due to injury, but has now confirmed fitness status for Davis Cup. The reason for Stepanek's pullout is not known.

Fatigue

The ATP Supervisor cited fatigue and injury at the end of a long season as the reason. "We should be thankful for the blessings," he said, mentioning top players like Mario Ancic (World No.11), Tomas Berdych (World No.13) and Carlos Moya, present in the fray.

The top-seeded Robredo will take on Alexander Peya (Austria) in the first round of the Sept. 25-Oct. 1 tournament, organised by Globosport. Ancic is drawn to play Igor Kunitsyn (Russia) and Moya faces Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina). Davis Cupper Harsh Mankad's absence will be felt from the Indian viewpoint, the beneficiary being the 16-year-old Akash Wagh, who has been granted a wildcard entry into the singles main draw.

After the draw at the Cricket Club of India, also the event venue, the tournament director informed that Mankad opted out due to personal reasons. Harsh Mankad, playing in the $50,000 Lubbock Challenger at McLeod Tennis Centre, Texas, sent a message. "A difficult decision. The wildcard (Mumbai tournament) wasn't made in my case till two weeks ago. That and other reasons led me to stay here."

Promising youngster

"Akash Wagh may not be the best Indian player, but certainly the most promising and the youngest," said Natekar.

As the third wildcard entry after Rohan Bopanna and Karan Rastogi, Wagh will certainly attract interest as a boy among men, and had trained and played in Europe as part of the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy. Bopanna will face Wesley Moodie (South Africa), while Rastogi meets Bjorn Phau (Germany). "Akash won the U-18 National title at 16. He is at the right age and blessed with talent," said Natekar about the opportunity of a lifetime for the Maharashtra youngster, ahead of the likes of Sanam Singh, Aditya Madkekar and Vishnu Vardhan, all slogging it out in the qualifying rounds.

Singles qualifiers

Meanwhile, Mustafa Ghouse, former Indian Davis Cupper, defeated Krishank Shah 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of the men's singles qualifiers on Saturday. He will meet Vishnu Vardhan in the next round. Four qualifiers will make the 32-player main draw.

The results: qualifiers (first round): Xiao Long Yin (Chn) bt Vijayendra Lad (Ind) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; Christopher Marquis (Ind) bt Akshay Bajoria (Ind), 6-3, 6-4; Sanam Singh (Ind) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (Ind) 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 (retd); Purav Raja (Ind) bt Benjamin Xavier (Ind) 6-0, 6-3; Nishank Mishra (Ind) bt Adedin Shah (Ind) 6-1, 6-1; Aditya Madkekar (Ind) bt Alon Moses (Ind) 6-0, 6-1; Rahil Makharia (Ind) bt S. Engineer (Ind) 6-0, 6-0; Mustafa Ghouse (Ind) bt Krishank Shah (Ind) 6-0, 6-1; Shivang Mishra (Ind) bt Mithun Murali (Ind) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5; Arjun Goutham (Ind) bt Kiran Nandakumar (Ind) 7-5, 6-4; Vishnu Vardhan (Ind) bt R.V. Murugesan (Ind) 7-5, 6-3.

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