Sunfeast Open to feature big names in world tennis

Kolkata: Anastasia Myskina, Sania Mirza, Antonella Serra Zanetti and Laura Pous Tio are some of the top names for the main draw of the Sunfeast WTA Open 2005 next month, the Tournament Committee announced here Sunday.

The qualifying round of the tournament, to be held in the remodelled Netaji Indoor stadium here, will begin from Sep 17, while the main round will be from Sep 19 to 25.

Tournament director Jaidip Mukherjea said: "The $170,000 Sunfeast Open 2005, Kolkata will feature an impressive roster of international stars, including Russian sensation world no. 14 Anastasia Myskina, India's very own world no. 50 Sania Mirza, the rising Croatia star world no. 78 Karolina Sprem and the popular Thai star Tamarine Tanasugarn, to name a few."

"Other well-known players include Italian Zanetti, Tio from Spain and Japan's Rika Fujiwara.

"Backed by some impressive performances, India's another rising talent Shikha Uberoi has also made it to the main draw," he said.

"Apart from those in the main draw, three wild card entrants for the tournament would be announced in due course," Mukherjea said.

"The three wild cards would be decided after seeing the list. If some well-known players want to be entered, they may be given a wild card. Otherwise, Indian players would be preferred," said Bharath Prasad, associate vice-president (event operations) Globosports.

Mukherjea said: "Kolkata has long been the Mecca of Indian cricket. With the rising popularity of Indian tennis, especially with the success of women stars like Mirza and Uberoi, and the growing potential in India, it will no longer be termed as a one-sport country."

"This is probably the first time that India will witness around seven of the top 100 players on the women's circuit battling it out for the coveted title of the Sunfeast Open 2005, Kolkata.

"This augurs well for the prospects of the tournament and will create a platform for some high-voltage tennis action in the weeks to come," he added.

"The inauguration will see something special. We are planning to organise a mixed doubles match featuring Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania and two others. But it's still in the planning stage," said West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty.