By TERRY MADDAFORD
Former world top-10 Felix Mantilla has been handed the last of three wildcards into next week's international tennis tournament at Stanley St.
The 26-year-old Spaniard joins England's Greg Rusedski and New Zealand No 1 Mark Nielsen as the wildcards for the Heineken Open.
Mantilla has an impressive record in Auckland. He reached the semifinals in 1998 - going on that year to reach a career-high 10 on the world rankings - and 1999.
He made the top 20 for the first time in 1996.
Injury last year - he had surgery on his right shoulder - saw his ranking plummet to 99, but earlier in the year he defeated Marat Safin and Magnus Norman at the Rome Masters.
Mantilla, who played in Hamilton against New Zealand in 1999 at the start of Spain's Davis Cup run which ended in triumph late last year, has won eight WTP singles titles.
He has been to the semifinals of the French Open at Roland Garros and the quarters of the Australian Open.
In 1998 in Auckland, Mantilla beat fellow Spaniard Carlos Costa in the quarters before bowing out to Australian Richard Fromberg.
The following year he upset Dominik Hrbarty - almost certain to be the second seed for this year's tournament - before going out to German Tommy Haas in the semifinals.
Nielsen has a wildcard into the Vodafone singles for the third time and will be looking to emulate his 1998 effort, when he beat Fernando Meligeni in the first round before losing in the second to Marcelo Rios.
Last year he went out in the first round to Magnus Gustafsson in straight sets.
Nielsen, 23, won one $US15,000 tournament in 2000 and reached the final in two others.
The remaining wildcards will be handed out tomorrow when the qualifying draw will be worked out as players arrive from other tournaments.
Qualifying rounds will be played over the weekend. Four qualifiers go into the main draw for Monday's start to the tournament proper.
Tennis: Spaniard enhances international flavour
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