Tennis: Heineken in the pink over Hrbaty

Dominik Hrbaty's attire at this year's US Open raised eyebrows. Picture / Reuters

It's not known whether his show-stopping pink shirt will also make the journey but Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty has confirmed he will make his eighth appearance at next year's Heineken Open.

The two-time champion's confirmation is the fourth top-20 player signed up for January's event, joining Fernando Gonzalez, Robby Ginepri and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Former world No 8 and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis has also been given a wild card, along with Kiwi No 1 Mark Nielsen.

The 27-year-old Hrbaty, who holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam tournament appearances among players on the ATP circuit with 36, will also lead Slovakia in next month's Davis Cup final against Croatia.

Ranked 20 in the world, he's perhaps better known in recent times for his questionable attire worn at this year's US Open.

Hrbaty wore a see-through pink and black shirt that had two holes cut out in the back around his shoulder blades and looked more like lingerie than tennis apparel. He also had a ball boy apply sunscreen to his back before his third-round victory over David Ferrer.

"Actually, I like it pretty much," Hrbaty said after the match but it served only to give his fourth round opponent Lleyton Hewitt further ammunition. "I just couldn't lose to a bloke wearing a shirt like that," Hewitt said after his comfortable three-set win.

The Slovakian has had a fair amount of success throughout his career, however, having won a further four titles to go with his 2001 and 2004 Heineken Open titles. He has also picked up more than US$5.5 million in career prize money.

"Dominik has become a crowd favourite here in Auckland - almost a local player. He has been a great supporter of the Heineken Open and it is wonderful to see him back as a top-20 player," tournament director Graham Pearce said.

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Greenhalgh and Mustard apply for captaincy

James Greenhalgh and David Mustard have confirmed they have applied to take over as Davis Cup captain.

New Zealand Tennis has called for applications for both the Davis Cup and Federation Cup captaincies and, while Pavlina Nola is expected to hang on to her role as Fed Cup captain, incumbent Bruce Derlin is under pressure to retain the job.

Emerging coaches Alistair Hunt and Danny Willman have decided against putting their names forward. Applications close on Friday.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY