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  • New Zealand cuts the January workload for top players

    10/4/08 5:19 PM | Johan Lindahl
    - Player power is making an impact on January's pre-Australian Open events across the Tasman sea in Auckland, with the Kiwis cutting back on match play in order to please competitors.

    The Heineken Open has come up short in recent seasons on big-name draw-cards. Officials, therefore, are prepared to cut the draw from 32 to 28 in order to give leading seeds a first-round bye.

    That seems to be the wave of the future in the week's prior to Grand Slams, with major competitors loathe to over-play running up to the majors. The Kiwis have to fight off the rival Aussies, whose event in Sydney has sweetened that pot with extra prize money.

    "Top players have made it quite clear that in the week preceding Grand Slams they're not keen on playing potentially five matches, and would prefer four," said a New Zealand official.

    "We've informed the players we're targeting and straight away they've said it's something worth considering. If we hadn't gone down from 32 to 28, we'd have been further behind the eight-ball."

    Elite players led by Roger Federer prefer to warm-up in Melbourne at the eight-man AAMI Classic, where three matches are guaranteed.

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