Mahesh Bhupathi could team up with Croatia's Mario Ancic, the biggest draw card of the Mumbai ATP, commencing on September 25 at the Cricket Club of India, the Indian doubles ace and ten-times Grand Slam champion said on Wednesday.
The Mumbai ATP is set to fly high, with Kingfisher Airlines promising support for three years. The announcement was made by Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and CEO of the company, at a glitzy function in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The US $380,000 ATP event was titled 'Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open' after Kingfisher offered to pump in a whooping Rs 3.5 crore per year for the event, which has attracted an impressive field in its inaugural year.
"We are happy to be associated with the tennis tournament, and its great that six of the top-20 players in the world will be participating in it," said Dr Mallya.
"It's not the first time we are supporting tennis. We've built a stadium in Bangalore, we've a past relationship with tennis and this move will only further cement that."
Bhupathi, who was ousted in the first round of the men's doubles at the US Open, said it was time Mumbai, "India's financial and entertainment cpaital" hosts a big tennis event.
"Tennis is the fastest growing sport in India and it will be great to host some of the best players in Mumbai. We have managed four-five international tournaments in India, but those were mainly WTA events. This time we thought we'd take a different route.
"The Davis Cup, played at Brabourne [stadium] earlier [this year] was a huge success and we think Mumbai is ready for another big tennis event," he added.
Three days after Andre Agassi bid farewell to tennis, Bhupathi said the American is an inspiration for players to keep competing.
"It is really encouraging, seeing him go on till 36. He had a tremendous work ethic and it was all about the love for the sport. It was never financial for him; he just wanted to keep playing. His example inspires us to keep pushing ourselves too."
Leander Paes will also play in Mumbai, with Czech partner Martin Damm. The duo have reached the quarter-finals of the US Open and have had some notable results, including a title at the Ordina Open, over the year.
Veteran star Greg Rusedski is also set to make his debut in India.
The tournament will be played on the newly-laid courts at the CCI, which have a 'plexipave' surface. The singles winner will pocket $52,000 and 175 ranking points.
Player field:
Tommy Robredo (Spain)
Radek Stepanek (Czech)
Mario Ancic (Croatia)
Fernando Gonzalez (Chile)
Tomas Berdych (Czech)
Nicolas Kiefer (Germany)
Dmitry Tursunov (Russia)
Carlos Moya (Spain)
Fabrice Santoro (France)
Davide Sanguinetti (Italy)
Bjorn Phau (Germany)
Juan Monaco (Argentina)
Wesley Moodie (RSA)
Simon Greul (Germany)
Robin Vik (Czech)
Denis Gremelmayr (Germany)
Stefano Galvani (Italy)
Ramon Delgado (Paraguay)
Stefan Koubek (Austria)
Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina)
Kristian Pless (Denmark)
Igro Kunitsyn (Russia)
Rik De Voest (RSA)
Nicolas Devilder (France)
Greg Rusedski (Great Britain)
3 wild cards, 4 qualifiers.
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