Tennis: It's a long shot but getting Rafa to Auckland would have eyes of world on Heineken Open

Spaniard Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Michael Berrer of Germany during the Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)

If Rafa Nadal decides to come to Auckland next week, it would lift the Heineken Open into a sporting stratosphere rarely seen in this country.

The world No 3 has been offered a wild card into the tournament, following his surprise first-round exit at the Qatar Open yesterday.

The 2015 Auckland event is already showcasing the strongest field in its history - with seven players in the top 20 - but Nadal would transform the event.

Nadal is pure sporting royalty. The 14-time grand slam winner is seen by some as the greatest player of all time and, outside football or basketball, has few peers in terms of global popularity among male sportspeople. He would be accompanied by a large media contingent and bring huge interest from worldwide television.

We have had big sporting names in New Zealand in the distant past - George Best, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Stirling Moss - but perhaps only Tiger Woods and Maria Sharapova would compare in terms of visitors in their prime in recent times.

Heineken Open tournament director Karl Budge was in contact with Nadal's management team within minutes of hearing of the Spaniard's demise in Qatar, where he lost to German journeyman Michael Berrer.

"We are prepared to do whatever it takes to bring him here," Budge said. "And I have the full commitment of my board to come up with the best possible package."

It's not inconceivable Nadal could come here but it remains a long shot. Like many others in the top 10, Nadal usually prefers not to play an event in the week leading into a grand slam, instead doing his own preparation.

Nadal hardly played in the second half of 2014, as he battled a wrist injury and a bout of appendicitis. He's desperately short of match practice and might decide to alter his schedule rather than go into the Australian Open with just one competitive match under his belt.

The Sydney ATP tournament has also pitched for Nadal and there are exhibition events in Kooyong and Adelaide in the same week.

5 stars who have played in Auckland

Roger Federer
The Heineken Open is the only tournament that Federer has never won a match at. He came to Auckland as an 18-year-old in 2000, ranked 61 but seen as a fast riser. The Swiss lost in straight sets to Juan Carlos-Ferrero on an outside court.

Juan Martin Del Potro
The Argentine was close to his prime when he came to Auckland in 2009. Then ranked No 9 in the world - after a dramatic rise in the rankings the year before - he was untroubled in claiming the title and shocked Federer to win the US Open seven months later.

Bjorn Borg
The Swede beat local favourite Onny Parun to lift the Auckland title in 1974. Just a few months later, he would start his record run at Roland Garros, the first of his six consecutive titles.

David Ferrer
As a frequent visitor, we tend to take him for granted. But Ferrer has come here three times when ranked inside the top five, once as world No 3. He's won the Heineken Open four times.

Rod Laver
Recognised as the greatest player of all time - even by Federer - the Australian came to Auckland on several occasions in the 1960s. He won in 1961 and was runner-up in 1969, the year he won all four grand slams.