Tennis: Early losses Auckland's gain

There are probably few fans fervently hoping for top players to lose as much as Heineken Open tournament director Richard Palmer right now.

That's because unexpected losses in tournaments around the world mean Palmer could attract colourful players such as Russian Mikhail Youzhny (ranked 19 in the world) or Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia (24).

Either would be a welcome addition to a field which already looks broad and deep - but which would readily accept players such as Youzhny or Ljubicic if they were in a position to take advantage of one of Palmer's wild cards.

Losing early in warm-up tournaments could pitch such players into an empty period ahead of the Australian Open - and may make the Heineken more attractive.

There's also no doubting their pedigree. Youzhny is known for an all-court game, his backhand and his frustration at missing a point in a match in Miami last year against Spain's Nicolas Almagro.

If you type 'Youzhny reacts badly to losing a point' into YouTube, you'll quickly realise he's worth the price of entry. And no, it's not tomato sauce.

Ljubicic is value for his life story alone. He escaped to an Italian tennis camp in 1992 as a 13-year-old from Bosnia.

With the main field decided, attention now turns to Palmer's decision on that third and final wild card. The top eight seeds are all from the world's top 31, the best depth of quality in the tournament's history, and there is a cut-off of 59 for the 19 direct entries into the 28-man draw.

At this stage, Argentine David Nalbandian has the first wild card. He is currently ranked 65 in the world and is fourth on the list for substitute direct entrants. That means he could still make the main draw or be one of the two 'special exemptions' if a couple of players pull out.

New Zealand No 1 Dan King-Turner (266) has the second. It is argued there has to be some incentive for homegrown talent and it should get a few more punters wandering along Tennis Lane.

The third wild card could go by default to Kiwi No 2 Rubin Statham (323) but that is where Palmer can explore his options.

"We've got two players in the top 20 [Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer]. The Sydney tournament [which is on at the same time] has the same with Gael Monfils and Tomas Berdych.

"That means after you take out the eight-man Kooyong exhibition field in Melbourne, plus Roger Federer, you've got eight players still eligible for Auckland.

"Many of those guys are playing in the first week of the year at Chennai, Doha or Brisbane. If they lose in the early rounds, they suddenly realise they're going to the Australian Open with minimal matchplay under their belts. So they come knocking late in the piece. Hypothetically, if Rafael Nadal loses early in Doha and asks us for a spot in the draw, who are you going to give it to? Nadal or the No 2 New Zealander?"

Palmer cites the example of how close they came to securing Novak Djokovic this year when he lost in the first round at Brisbane.

"It annoyed them as he was their marquee player but it meant he became available. For a brief moment, we thought 'great' but we lost out because it's an internal flight and a simpler customs process to go to Sydney rather than needing a passport and a visa to get here."

Palmer could opt to give former champions Jarkko Nieminen or Dominik Hrbaty a go. But if he's lucky, colourful characters such as Youzhny and Ljubicic could invoke a flurry of activity through the turnstiles.