Cricket Club of India's tennis courts almost ready for Mumbai Open

Mumbai, Sep 1 (UNI) Last minute work is on in full swing at the Cricket Club of India as it gets ready to host the city's first ATP tennis tournament in the last week of September.

Most of the work has been completed and light construction activity amid talk of quotations give away the fact that the tennis courts at the CCI are being spruced up for the big event.

The navy blue cement surface is slightly scratched dusted green and flood lights peep pout from the four corners of the enclosure as the asphalt base with seven-layer plexiplave cushion courts get ready for action in the Mumbai Open tennis tournament.

Tournament director Gaurav Natekar, said the main round of the Mumbai Open will be held on one main court and two side courts, with the matches beginning at 1700 hrs IST.

Temporary stands, with a capacity of 3,500, are also being erected and the finishing touches for the locker room remain.

With less than a month remaining, the project worth approximately Rs 12 crores is almost ready for the 380,000 dollar Mumbai Open which will commence on September 26 and has attracted an impressive field in its inaugural year.

Along with popular players Mario Ancic, Carlos Moya, Tommy Robredo and Fernando Gonzalez, 2006 Australian Open semi-finalist Nicolas Kiefer and world No 9 Radek Stepanek will be participating in the tournament.

''Natekar, who is supervising even the minutest of works which is in progress, said that it has been a big challenge for all of us.

There were so many details to look into and we had to conform to the ATP standards. I guess the last month is going to be even more hectic with the last-minute situations,''he added.

He said the toughest part for them was converting these three courts into two. We had to level the surface and make sure everything was ready before the monsoons. I have myself played on the new courts and they look pretty good. The bounce is even and we are getting the members to play in order to iron out the problems further.

The tickets for the event, which will be on the counter only a day or two before the matches start, are also reasonably priced to get in more tennis enthusiasts at around Rs 150-200. There will also be a discounted fare for the CCI members.

UNI GS PM PDS PC1801