Tammy sets her sights on Open
TAMARINE TANASUGARN is keen to win on home soil.
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[TENNIS] The US$170,000 Pattaya Women's Open - which is part of the Sony Ericsson WTA tour and supported by Pattaya City and Chon Buri province - will be held at the Dusit Resort from February 3 to 11.
The tournament, which has attracted leading tennis players from the around the world, plus local star Tamarine Tanasugarn, who reached the final here in 1996, is a stepping stone for Thai players to compete at a professional level. Tamarine, fresh from her successful run at the PTT Bangkok Open, where she lost a closely fought final to American teen star Vania King, is aiming to go one better at Pattaya next year and win the tournament. Tamarine said she was very happy to play on home soil, as she gets tremendous support from local fans.In her last outing at the PTT Bangkok Open, she said she did not expect to reach the final, but was motivated by the support from Thais, who cheered her all the way. "I'm disappointed not to have won. My recent experience at the Asian Games has shown how quickly Asia's women players have developed in the last two-three years. In order to keep pace with them, I'm working hard on my game," she said. Tammy will start her 2007 season at the Australian Open and play in Japan before returning to Pattaya, where she is hoping to be the champion. There will be no entry fee for spectators during the qualifying rounds for the Pattaya Women's Open on February 3 and 4. For the main draw - from February 5 to 8 - tickets are on sale for Bt300. And for the final three days, Feb 9 to 11, tickets are priced at Bt300, Bt500 and Bt1,000. Meanwhile, British veteran Tim Henman will take his chances, coming into his 2007 season cold with a start at the Australian Open. The 32-year-old told the BBC that he has opted not to play any tune-up events before the January 15 start of the major in Melbourne. He said at his last event in November that he was planing a long Christmas holiday with his wife and two daughters at home in London. The down time will stretch well into the new year for the former Wimbledon semi-finalist. "Usually I play a tournament before the Open but this year I decided to spend a little longer at home with my family before hitting the road again," Henman said. "And it will also give me a bit of extra time to make sure my knee is fully recovered before I start." Henman, whose game picked up markedly during this past season, has put his chronic back troubles behind him with a solid fitness regime and is working to cure a slight injury to his right knee from last in the season. The Briton called the problem "about 85 per cent but it's proving a bit stubborn and it's not quite fully healed."
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