Tennis: ATP notes absence of top players

American John Isner came from a set down to defeat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain in the first round yesterday. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Auckland's struggle to attract a top field to this year's men's tennis open did not go unnoticed in the game's corridors of power.

But whether anything can be done about 16 of the world's top 20-ranked players bypassing the two official ATP events in the week preceding the Australian Open remains to be seen.

With the vast majority of the game's elite players choosing to play either lucrative exhibition tournaments or rest up ahead of the year's first Grand Slam in Melbourne next week, both Auckland and rival tournament Sydney struggled to attract big names.

The dearth of star quality was exacerbated when both tournaments were hit by the withdrawal of one of their major drawcards, with David Nalbandian pulling out of Auckland and top seed Gael Monfils pulling the pin in Sydney.

On the eve of the Heineken Open, tournament director Richard Palmer called on the ATP to take steps to address the overbearing influence of big money exhibitions.

That call did not go unheard, said ATP board member Justin Gimelstob.

The ATP had its own concerns about the impact of what it euphemistically calls "special events", Gimelstob said yesterday.

"It is disconcerting when you see special events cherry picking some players that we prefer to see supporting our own events.," he said.

"From a tour standpoint we want players playing [ATP] events and we are constantly trying to make that happen."

Trying and succeeding, however, are two different things.

In tennis the power rests predominantly with the players. Gimelstob, the 32-year-old former journeyman American pro, is one of three player representatives on a seven-man board of directors.

The board also has three tournament representatives, one of whom is Kiwi Graham Pearce, and an executive chairman who Gimelstob said often acted as mediator.

Player representatives such as Gimelstob are elected by a 10-man player council headed by president Roger Federer and vice-president Rafael Nadal. Gimelstob is effectively the player council's agent on the ATP board. So while that board might prefer top players to support events like Auckland, it certainly isn't going to order them to forgo big exhibition cheques to do so.

"At this time of year we are conscious that there are so many special events and that they do pose some challenges and we are looking into that," Gimelstob said.

"There are certain rules in place and obviously we don't want to be prohibitive to players' free will, but we also want it to be enticing for players to support ATP tour events, so it is a constant balance."

Moves such as introducing first-round byes for the top four seeds had helped as they allowed top players to arrive later at tournaments. Top seed Tommy Robredo coming to Auckland after the Hopman Cup was an example of that change working.

Tennis' player-focused administration structure had allowed it to avoid the costly labour disputes and strikes that had afflicted professional sports in America, Gimelstob pointed out.

And while he had some sympathy for Auckland's predicament, the event had solid foundations and seemed to be thriving despite the absence of a big-name drawcard this year.

"Other events probably couldn't be as solvent without as many top players but here they really seem to understand their tennis, the history of the sport and the quality of the sport.

"There are some very, very skilled players here who are just under that top cusp. You have great storylines and you have great tennis and the crowd here seems to support that.

"This event has great tradition. It is very intimate, the players that come here very much enjoy it. It is a very fan-friendly atmosphere ..."

HEINEKEN OPEN
Today's schedule

Centre court - start 11 am

* 2-Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
v Michael Lammer (SUI)
* WC-Rubin Statham (NZL)
v 8-Albert Montanes (ESP)
* 1-Tommy Robredo (ESP)
v Simon Greul (GER)
* Marc Gicquel (FRA)
v 4-Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Not before 7.30pm
* Jeremy Chardy (FRA) or Arnaud Clement (FRA)
v 2-David Ferrer (ESP)
* Rogier Wassen (NED) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
v Marcelo Melo (BRA) / Bruno Soares (BRA)

Court 4 - start 1:30 pm

* Johan Brunstrom (SWE) / Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO)
v Jaroslav Levinsky (CZE) / Travis Parrott (USA) or 2 Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) / Leander Paes (IND)
* Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) / Andre Sa (BRA)
v Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG) / Juan Monaco (ARG)
* WC Marcus Daniell (NZL) / Horia Tecau (ROU)
v 3 Marcel Granollers (ESP) / Tommy Robredo (ESP)

Court 6 - start noon

* Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
v Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
* John Isner (USA)
v 7-Juan Monaco (ARG)
* 6-Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
v Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)