KEY POINTS:
The Spanish are here. So are the Argentinians.
Of the 28 players so far confirmed for the main draw of the Heineken Open starting in Auckland today, nine are either Spanish or Argentinian, as are six of the eight seeds.
The breakdown is five Spaniards to four Argentinians.
A quirk of the draw means that, should he once again progress to the final, defending champion David Ferrer could face a fellow Spaniard in every round except the second, when he will face either unseeded Argentinian Sergio Roitman or a qualifier.
The top seed and world No 5 will begin his title defence against countryman Oscar Hernandez.
The plum tie of round one pits former world No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero against wildcard Croat Mario Ancic.
Ferrero was a first-round casualty last year and has an Open record of 2-3 in his three visits to Auckland, although one of those victories was against Roger Federer.
Ancic, a former top 10 player and the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon, is on the comeback trail from illness and injury. Ferrero said he did not quite know what to expect from the big-serving Croat but that at his best he was a dangerous prospect.
"It is going to be a tough match for me. His serve is so big because he is so tall, so I will try to focus on my return."
Last year Ferrero was bounced out in the first round by Chilean Nicolas Massu, a fate he also suffered two years earlier.
"Last year I played so bad in the first round here and I would like to change that," he said. "I will just try to enjoy it and play my best tennis."
Whoever wins the match will be among the biggest threats to Ferrer in a top half of the draw that also contains fifth seed Jarkko Nieminen and sixth seed Nicolas Almagro.
Both New Zealand wildcards, Dan King-Turner and Rubin Statham, are in the bottom half of the draw.
Statham will play the eighth seed, Spaniard Albert Montanes, while King-Turner has drawn the second seed, Juan Ignacio Chela.
Third seed Juan Monaco will play Swede Thomas Johansson in the first round.
* There will be plenty of local interest at the first day of the Heineken Open today, with three New Zealanders to feature on centre court.
The first match of the day sees G. D. Jones - brother of Sacha - up against Italian Alberto Brizzi in a final-round qualifying match. If Jones wins he will join wildcards Dan King-Turner and Rubin Statham in the main draw.
King-Turner is third up on centre court when he takes on second seed Juan Ignacia Chela, while Statham takes on Spaniard Albert Montanes in the first match of the evening session.
