The Hindu : Sport : `Stars will be under pressure'

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Friday, Dec 29, 2006
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`Stars will be under pressure'

Nandita Sridhar

KEEPING THEIR FINGERS CROSSED: Vijay Amritraj will be hoping that his son Prakash will make the most of his wildcard entry. — FILE Photo

Chennai: The quiet emptiness in the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium, a few days before the Chennai Open is not the calm before a storm , but simply a steady sense of readiness that comes with staging the event for 10 years. It's been 10 years of tennis in the city. We've seen the name changes, the sweat soaked shirts in the April editions, small names doing big things and big names getting flattened. We've watched the tournament almost slip away from the city, and we've watched it stay on, and only get better.

Strong field

And in these ten years, it hasn't gotten better than two top-10 players in the main draw, and five from the top-50. "The depth of the field is very strong this time, so guys like Nadal (Rafael) and Nalbandian (David) will be under pressure. They will be expected to win, play each other in the final, and will have their hands full," said Vijay Amritraj, whose son Prakash has been given a wildcard for the singles main draw along with Karan Rastogi and Spain's Bartolome Salva Vidal (Vishal Uppal and Ashutosh Singh received a wildcard for the doubles draw). "From what I've heard, the players love the Chennai Open. They love coming to the city, they enjoy the hospitality, and the way people take care of them," he said.

"It's a great event, and it'll be nice to see some good matches in the first couple of rounds. Three-setters, and youngsters coming out of the pack will make it interesting. There might be an upset or two," he added.

Crowd support

Upsets might have marred a few editions, but the crowds have delivered when the players have. "The fans have been supporting us for eleven years (the first edition was held in Delhi in 1996). This is one of the best fields we've had, and it might or might not be the same every time, but as long as we give them quality tennis, they will keep coming," said IMG advisor Ravi Krishnan.

Winning the ATP's Player Services Award of Excellence this year might have caught the attention of the players. "Very few tournaments take care of the players' needs like this one," he said.

The big guys have been roped in, and if ticket sales so far are anything to go by, star magnetism has worked. All that's left for them to do is win.

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