By TERRY MADDAFORD
Brazilians who turned up to see their beloved Guga in action yesterday had every right to feel disgruntled.
Expecting Gustavo Kuerten to play his first-round singles at the Heineken Open on yesterday's opening day, Auckland's Brazilian community snapped up tickets.
But when they arrived at the stadium in the morning they discovered his first-round match against former world No 2 Alex Corretja will not be played until today.
Auckland Tennis officials moved quickly to swap their tickets.
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In these days of electronic gadgetry, it is surprising Auckland's showpiece venue has come up short.
Getting the clock which gives the elapsed time for each match to work has been a constant battle.
Missing in action this year are the radar gun, which records the speed of each serve, and the digital temperature gauge which confirms to the players and spectators that, yes, it is damn hot.
Open organiser Graham Pearce said the clock was probably suffering in the heat.
He admitted the missing gadgets were a cost-cutting measure.
"They are likely to be back next year," Pearce said. "But if we are to have something showing the speed we want to do it at both ends of the court rather than just one as in the past.
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Some people don't mind the heat.
Like the suppliers of bottled water and the sponsor's product.
Over the two weeks - of the Open and last week's ASB Classic - the players alone will gulp 12,000 bottles of water.
Around the stadium, it is expected fans will match last year's beer consumption when they quaffed 18,000 bottles of Heineken and 1500 litres out of the taps.
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The big-name players have attracted big crowds.
Corporate boxes were sold out for the Open before Christmas.
Covered seating for Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the ASB Bank Tennis Centre is already sold out. A few uncovered seats remain for the latter days but are not expected.
If centre court sells out today as expected, organisers will release some ground entry tickets at $25 each, which will allow spectators to see some juicy match-ups.
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For Kevin Burgess and sidekick Bruce Dick, it is business as usual as they string hundreds of rackets.
"We did 443 last year and are up to 350 this time," Burgess said yesterday.
"It has been busy for sure."
While he said there had been "no crazy requests" for his $30-a-racket service, Burgess was disappointed when Belgian Xavier Malisse went out in the first round yesterday.
"We did seven for him before his match against Jiri Novak."
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Players from 23 countries have been, or will be, in action in first-round main draw singles and doubles.
Seven Americans head the list. Five Argentines and five players from the Czech Republic are also at the stadium, along with four New Zealanders, four Spaniards, three from the Netherlands and South Africa.
Also along for the ride are players from nations including India, Italy, Luxembourg, Peru, Ecuador, the Bahamas and Chile.
Related links
Tennis: Big day for Brazilian community a fizzer
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