Nicolas Kiefer gets Wild Card for Kingfisher Open main draw

Mumbai, Sep 19 (UNI) Winner of six ATP singles titles, Nicolas Kiefer of Germany has been awarded a wild card entry into the singles main draw of the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open 2007.

The former World No 4 will be joining power-packed performers like 2007 Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet, 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, and former Wimbledon and US Open Champion Lleyton Hewitt to battle it out for the 416,000 dollar title on the hard courts of Mumbai, a release issued here today stated.

Kiefer injured his wrist while playing at the 2006 French Open and announced his return on July 5, 2007 having fallen to the 404th position on ATP, which he has improved to 131 in a short span of time. He gave a glimpse of his prowess at Wimbledon where he made the third round defeating 27th ranked Filippo Volandri and then Fabrice Santoro but succumbed to 5th ranked Novak Djokovic in a thrilling four-setter, three of which were tie-breakers.

Mahesh Bhupathi, Managing Director, Globosport said, ''We are pleased to announce that Nicolas Kiefer has accepted a wild card for the Kingfisher Open 2007 main draw. Nicholas is a very gifted player and on his day can give the top seeds a run for their money. It will be a great opportunity for Indian tennis fans to watch Kiefer on the CCI courts.'' UNI