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| Love-all Chennai |
| Aabhas Sharma / New Delhi Jan 04, 2009, 00:55 IST |
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The new year kicks off with the Chennai Open, an important tennis tournament.
Chennai is all set to witness some high-quality action, especially as India’s premier tennis tournament kicks off on January 5, 2009. Ever since the Chennai Open took off in 1997, India has seen some big names coming in year after year to enthrall the crowds. Rafael Nadal, Patrick Rafter, Boris Becker, David Nalbandian, Carlos Moya are just some of the big names who have graced the courts of Chennai.
The Chennai Open 2009, in its 14th edition, promises to be an exciting event in sports, particularly especially if one looks at the level of competition that it’ll offer on the courts. While two of the participating players are ranked among the top 10 tennis players, there are seven others who are in the top 50 rankings.
Among the big names there is Nikolay Davydenko, who is ranked number five in the world, along with one of the rising stars in men’s tennis Stan Wawrinka, ranked number 13 in the world. Former champion and world number one Carlos Moya will also be seen in action. Big server, Croatian Ivo Karlovic is another one who can spring a surprise or two on the fast and hard courts of Chennai.
Davydenko, who had an impressive 2008, starts as the favourite and will certainly be looking to add more points to bolster his ranking in the new year. Says Davydenko, on the official website of Chennai Open 2009: “The tournament is getting extremely popular on the tennis circuit and I am looking forward to it.” Carlos Moya, who will be visiting Chennai for the seventh time, says that he is always looking forward to playing in India.
According to Fernando Soler, tournament director, Chennai Open, “Chennai Open 2009 promises to showcase world-class tennis for its fans across the world with its impressive roster of Indian and international stars.”
The Indian contingent at the Chennai Open 2009 will be led by stars Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, who will be competing in the doubles with their respective partners, Mark Knowles and Lukas Dlouhy.
Both Bhupathi and Paes will continue to be a big draw at Chennai and will renew their professional rivalry on the courts once again. What a spectacle it will be if these two are pitted against each other in front of the home crowd!
On the singles front, Chennai will see rising star Somdev Devvarman, along with Prakash Amritraj. Devvarman has been slowly rising up the men’s rankings and playing in Chennai against a few big names will definitely be good for his career.
Amritraj, ranked India’s number two, will also be eager to start the new year on a good note, and what better than to play in front of the home crowd? Yuki Bhambri, another youngster, has been given a wild card as well.
Off court, the organisers of the Chennai Open have been doing well too. A total of 24 brands are partnering the event providing the much-needed financial muscle. In fact, in 2008, the tournament won ATP’s Best Marketing Award. The brands are happy to be associated with the tournament as it provides them a great non-cricketing platform, especially brands like Rolex and Volvo. The other prominent brands associated with the tournament include the likes of Kingfisher, TVS and SAIL.
Ravi Krishnan, advisor, IMG, believes that the Chennai Open has set the pace in organising Indian tournaments in keeping with international standards. “An impressive player field, quality tennis action and professional execution of the tournament year after year, demonstrates the strength of Chennai Open and its position as the premier tennis event.”
With lucrative broadcast deals in place, the Chennai Open will be reaching audiences in 140 countries including Spain, France, Romania and Hungary. In India, the tournament will be shown live on Zee Sports.
The tournament has seen a lot of changes in the last few years in terms of sponsors, but has always managed to get great support from corporates as well. The tournament director, however, feels that sports are a major force in connecting people and is delighted with the number of sponsors on board. Says Soler, “The tremendous response and support that we receive from our partners indicates that the tournament is growing.”
As for the crowds, they will be hoping to see a match between Leander Paes and Bhupathi. But there’s much more that the tournament will also offer — homegrown, local talent competing with the rest of the world. That’s what will make this Chennai Open 2009 worth watching.
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