Tennis: Odds against luring champion to Auckland event

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Goran Ivanisevic owes Auckland Tennis a favour, but chief executive Graham Pearce is not holding his breath at attracting Wimbledon's latest golden boy to next January's Heineken Open.

Ivanisevic was in Auckland for last year's event, but he won few friends when he left immediately after being beaten in the first round.

He copped a fine for failing to attend the mandatory post-match media conference.

Pearce handed him a wildcard for this year's tournament, but when his ranking fell and he was forced to qualify for the Australian Open, he pulled out and was replaced by Greg Rusedski.

"In a business sense, our chances of getting him now might not be great," Pearce said yesterday. "But we will be talking to his agent, who has a number of other players, including Russian Marat Safin."

Pearce, back from the French Open and Wimbledon, will begin his usual round of negotiations with players and their agents at the US Open from August 27-September 9.

"There's always a big group in the general pool who we are interested in," Pearce said. "Andy Roddick is one who comes to mind."

The weak NZ dollar is again causing Pearce headaches.

The tournament costs organisers $US375,000 ($922,860) - which must increase to $US400,000 in 2003.

"When we add in the ASB Bank Women's Classic, we have to find $US515,000. With the women's tournament up $US30,000 to $US140,000, it is the richest women's sporting event in New Zealand.

"Apart from next year's one-off NZ Open golf, the Heineken Open is the richest sporting event in this country."

Like organisers of many tournaments, Pearce anxiously awaits the day to again have a Kiwi contender.

"We are not alone in this. While Tim Henman made the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time, Britain do not have many other big-name players, despite pouring a huge amount into a development programme being overseen by Mark Cox.

"They had record crowds from the first day of Wimbledon this year, but tennis is still far from a grassroots sport in England.

"And, somewhat surprisingly, other countries, including the US and Germany, and, in the case of their women, Australia, are all bemoaning their lack of potential champions."

Pearce, also an ATP board member, said doubles had become a big debating point.

"We are keen to encourage more players to play doubles. At present there are too many who only enter doubles to get their ranking points up," Pearce said.

"The ATP is looking at ways in which players can use their singles rankings to get into doubles. There have also been suggestions that to make doubles more attractive they should always be three sets and that a tiebreak be used in the final set.

"Doubles players take home 25 per cent of the prizemoney at the major tournaments, but are not putting 25 per cent of bottoms on seats.

"There is also a thought that players should earn points from singles and doubles, with the overall winner being acclaimed as the No 1 player in the world."