Asian Hopman Cup Tennis Tournament

The big tennis event in town this week. Features all the big names, including you-know-who.

The International Tennis Federation, in association with the Asian Tennis Federation and All India Tennis Association, is organising the inaugural Asian Hopman Cup Tennis Tournament from 23rd to 26th November, at the SAAP Tennis Complex in Lal Bahadur Stadium compound. Besides the host nation India, 5 other Asian teams are participating in the tournament. They are China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Thailand and Uzbekistan. Philippines is the reserve team.

The format of play comprises of one men's singles, one women's singles and one mixed doubles title. Two groups of three teams each will then contest a round robin; and the two group winners will meet in the final to decide the championship.

The tournament boasts a total prize money of USD 70,000, with the winners pocketing USD 20,000 and the runners-up USD 12,000. The second placed teams of each group get USD 10,000 each, and third placed, USD 9,000 each. The winners of this edition of the tournament will gain direct entry into the World Hopman Cup to be held at Perth in Australia from 30th December 2006 to 5th January 2007, in which six of the best nations in tennis like Australia, USA, Russia, Spain, Czech Republic and the Republic of Korea will fight it out.

India will field one of its strongest teams, with Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna. All the matches will be played on synthetic surfaces. The opening ceremony will start on 23rd November, and the round robin league matches start thereafter, with the finals and the closing ceremony scheduled for 26th November.

The Hopman Cup is the official Mixed Team competition under the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which also sanctions the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. It is also the only team event in the sporting world where the country's leading female and male players pair up and compete as a team.

Please contact Raja Narsimha Rao on 2323-1515/2323-1500/98490-31575 for further details.