| New Delhi, December 30, 2005: *ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's
number one sports broadcaster, will telecast LIVE & exclusive
the Chennai Open 2006, South Asia's only ATP International Series
from the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium, Chennai from Januray 2 –
8.
Chennai Open will boast of a strong line-up that includes the defending
champion Carlos Moya from Spain, Croatia's Davis Cup hero and World
No. 9
Ivan Ljubicic and Asia's top-ranking player and 2003 champion Paradorn
Srichaphan from Thailand. Other well-known players with career wins
over
some of the best players in the world include Rainer Schuettler,
Jonas Bjorkman, Jan-Michael Gambill
and Justin Gimelstob. India's Prakash Amritraj has received a wild
card for the main draw of India's only ATP series. The Chennai Open
will have 32
players taking part in the weeklong tournament starting on January
2, 2006.
ESPN STAR Sports have also roped in former Wimbledon Champion and
Australia's No.1 player, Pat Cash as a commentator for the tournament.
Pat
Cash had played the tournament in 1997 and will be sharing his expert
views and analysis of the games played during the tournament.
The Chennai Open is owned and organised by IMG, the world's premier
sports, leisure and lifestyle management and marketing agency. Rechristened
the
Chennai Open in 2005, the event will be held for its 11 th consecutive
year in January 2006. The tournament is conducted in Chennai under
the aegis of
the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and is organised with the
active collaboration of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil
Nadu (SDAT) and
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA). The event has been honoured
with the ATP Award for Excellence twice and the award for the Best
Promoted Tournament in the International Group over the past few
years.
Chennai has long been christened the Mecca of Indian tennis with
players of high stature such as Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan,
Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj and Leander Paes all spending significant
parts of their careers in the great city. Players and officials
have rated the world-class
SDAT Tennis Stadium as one of the best in Asia.
ESPN STAR Sports will also be showcasing the first grand slam of
the year, Australian Open in mid January adding to their bouquet
offering top
tournaments and series in the world of international sports.
| Date |
Fixture |
Time |
Channel |
| 2nd-8th Jan 2006 |
Chennai Open- ATP Series (L) |
17:00 |
STAR Sports |
India Time. Schedule subject to change; L: LIVE. S: Same day delayed.
For further information, contact ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd at
011-51544444-51
Bhaskar Majumdar, Manager - Corporate Communications, 9811194244,
Email:
bhaskarm@espnstar.co.in
Tarundeep Singh, IPAN, 9811017310, 52492100, Email: tarundeep.singh@ipan.com
For the latest schedules and programme information visit www.espnstar.com
|
