India's tennis event to go ahead

India's tennis event to go ahead

Agence France-Presse,
Madras

The season-opening ATP Indian Open will go ahead as scheduled
next week in the southern city of Madras despite the heavy death
toll caused by tsunami tidal waves in the area, organizers said
on Wednesday.

"The tournament is definitely on and no player has pulled
out," said Ravi Krishnan of the International Management Group
(IMG), which has organized the event for the past eight years.

Madras is the capital city of Tamil Nadu state where some
4,500 people died in Sunday's giant waves triggered by an
earthquake off the Indonesian coast.

World number five Carlos Moya of Spain and Asia's flag-bearer
Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand top the list of players taking
part in the 400,000-dollar event from Jan. 3-9.

Moya, who defeated Paradorn in the final last season, returns
to defend his crown after leading Spain to victory in the Davis
Cup final against the United States earlier this month.

Among other top-100 players in the fray are Rainer Schuettler
of Germany, Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, Alex Calatrava of Spain, Lu
Yen-Hsun of Taiwan, Dennis van Scheppingen of the Netherlands and
Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States.

The organizers will host a charity auction on Sunday to raise
funds for the tsunami victims.

Among the items to be auctioned are caps, racquets and shirts
signed by leading players like Maria Sharpova, Venus Williams,
Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert.

Clothing and caps autographed by golf stars Vijay Singh and
Annika Sorensten will also be auctioned.

Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova arrived in Australia on Tuesday
to begin her 30th season of professional tennis at 48.

Navratilova, who delayed plans to retire after competing at
her first Olympics this summer, will play doubles in 2005 with
Daniela Hantuchova, a 21-year-old Slovakian.

Navratilova, winner of 58 Grand Slam titles, will compete in
next week's Gold Coast hardcourt tournament and team with
France's Nathalie Dechy, winner of the 2003 Gold Coast singles
title.

"She said last year would be her last year, but she's still
playing because she loves tennis and she feels like she has a
chance of winning," Gold Coast tournament director Liz Smylie
said Tuesday.

Hantuchova is playing the Hopman Cup in Perth, but will join
Navratilova for the Sydney International beginning Jan. 10 and
the Australian Open beginning Jan. 17. Navratilova will play
doubles and mixed doubles - with India's Leander Paes - at the
Australian Open.

In 2003, Navratilova and Paes won the Australian Open and
Wimbledon mixed doubles titles. It was Navratilova's 20th
Wimbledon title, tying the record set by Billie Jean King. This
year she won one title, with Lisa Raymond in Vienna, Austria.