By TERRY MADDAFORD
The list of possibilities for January's international tournament is reading like a who's who of women's tennis.
Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina are all on the list of prospective starters.
ASB Classic tournament director Richard Palmer took a "if you don't ask, you don't know" approach to the US Open in New York, where he spoke to two of the biggest agents in his attempt to attract a big name to the January 5-10 tournament.
"I spoke to IMG, who have Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, among others, on their books," said Palmer.
"While they are a long way from committing to anything, they certainly didn't dismiss it."
Palmer would like to get one of the world's top five, or, at worse, top 10 to Auckland.
The other big player in the agent stakes, Octagon, acts for Anna Kournikova and Mary Pierce, who have been the drawcards for the past two classics.
"Both said they enjoyed their time here when I spoke to them in New York this week and are not ruling out a return," said Palmer. "But I don't really see them as being the main attraction."
Octagon also has Russians Dementieva, ranked 11th in the world, and Nadia Petrova, ranked 19th, on its books, opening the possibility of one or other playing here.
Myskina, ranked in the world's top 10, has played as a qualifier at the ASB Bank Tennis Centre and, as a close friend of regular visitor Elena Likhovtseva, remains a real possibility.
Ashley Harkleroad, a semifinalist in doubles and beaten in the second round on singles this year, is another Palmer is confident will return.
"The feedback from players is very positive," he said.
"While we accept that we have to go head-to-head with the Hopman Cup, an exhibition tournament in Asia and the Gold Coast tournament, we know the players like coming here.
"We can be certain some big names will be in Auckland this summer."
Former winners Meilen Tu and Anne Kremer, now out of sight on the world rankings, have already approached Palmer seeking wildcards into the 2004 tournament.
Tennis: Big names eyed for women's classic in Auckland
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