KEY POINTS:
Argentinians Agustin Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela, who are preparing for the Davis Cup final against Russia in Moscow this weekend, have been confirmed for the men's Open in Auckland.
Twenty-three names were confirmed by organisers yesterday in what is the strongest field with 16 players ranked in the world's top 50.
The tournament's top seed is world No 7 Spain's Tommy Robredo who recently played in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He is followed by world No 9 and this year's finalist Mario Ancic.
Another Spaniard, David Ferrer, is seeded at number three with defending champion Jarkko Nieminen and Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Calleri seeded fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Gaston Gaudio, also from Argentina, has been confirmed. Ranked 34th in the world, one place behind Chela, Gaudio won at Roland Garros in 2004.
Among those returning is two-time champion Dominik Hrbaty on his ninth visit to New Zealand, Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka and Belgian Olivier Rochus.
"We are tickled pink," said tournament director Graham Pearce. "From our point of view, it is the strongest field ever. There is a good, even spread of players, which is a different pattern to previous years. Players have chosen to come and play here rather than go to Sydney."
The cut-off for direct entry into the tournament is world number 65. There are another two special exempts, four qualifying spots to be filled along with three wildcards to be announced.
The special exempts are held for players that are competing in the weeks prior to the Heinken Open and cannot make it here for the qualifying tournament, which is held in Albany the weekend before the Open starts.
If the two exempts are not used, they can be awarded to players who want to enter but are ranked just out of 65 cut-off mark. One of those is Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, a previous Grand Slam semifinalist, who is ranked 68th.
Usually, the top ranked Kiwi player is granted a wildcard if it is deemed they have done enough to justify going into the main drew. Depending on the depth, sometimes two get wildcards. However, Pearce suggests this year there will only be one - and that is likely to be Dan King-Turner.
WHAT: Heineken Open
WHEN: January 8-13
WHERE: ASB Tennis Centre
TOP SEEDS: 1. Tommy Robredo (Spain), 2. Mario Ancic (Croatia), 3. David Ferrer (Spain)
