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Sport \| Tennis

Gauteng gets ready for new SA tennis Open

SY LERMAN | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Oct 14 2008 13:39

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Soccer's 2010 World Cup organisers might not be alone in the race to erect new stadiums and facilities.

On a more modest scale, the pressure is also on to complete a new tennis complex at the Montecasino entertainment and gambling complex in Johannesburg for the revived South African Open in February.

According to South African Tennis Association (Sata) CEO Ian Smith, the new, four-court facility with two show courts will be ready for an event that has already attracted the world's fifth-ranked David Ferrer and 15th-ranked Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

"Although everything has to be done from scratch," added Smith, "the blueprint and timetable for the new complex are all going according to plan."

He said the acquisition of Ferrer and Tsonga was only the start in assembling an entry for the South African Open that will recall the halcyon days of the event in the 1970s and early 1980s when many of the world's leading players came to the country.

The South African Open was resurrected two years ago as a Challenger event after a bleak 10 years off the map in the tennis wilderness, with the tournament at Montecasino restoring South Africa on the main ATP circuit.

The next step after establishing the Open as a permanent ATP feature, said Smith, will be to gain a prestigious Masters event and restore the tournament to the top echelons of world tennis. -- Sapa

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