2011 Heineken Open Lands 3 Confirmed Top 20 Players

Written by: Staff on 24th December 2010

2011 Heineken Open Lands 3 Confirmed Top 20 Players

Xavier Malisse (BEL) |

The 2011 Heineken Open featuring the Panasonic Singles & Doubles has scored a coup with the confirmation of world No15, Nicolas Almagro.

The Spanish No3 has been granted a singles wildcard into the main draw after a request from his management.

With Almagro in the Heineken Open there are now three players (David Ferrer at No7, Almgaro No15 and John Isner No19) ranked inside the top 20 and a seeding cut off of 31 (Thomaz Bellucci).

Almagro has had a quality 2010 winning two titles and making the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the second time in his career (the first time was in 2008).

He featured in two ATP semifinals – Vienna and Madrid and was a quarterfinalist on three other occasions – Acapulco, Miami at the Masters Series and Munich.

His titles came at Bastad where he defeated Robin Soderling in three sets in the final. At Gstaad he accounted for Richard Gasquet in the final for his seventh career title.

Known as an aggressive player the 25-year-old Almagro will take to the courts in Auckland for the fifth time in his career in 2011 with his best performance being in 2009 where he made the quarterfinals.

Almagro reached a career high No11 in August 2008 and is known for his unlimited talent, which at times is overtaken by his urge to hit every ball as hard as possible.

“Almagro is an undeniable talent who is one of the hardest hitters in the world. His results in 2010 speak for themselves. Winning two tournaments and making the quarters at Roland Garros is pretty impressive. The fact he is No15 in the world shows that he is a top player. He adds even more depth to an already classy player list for 2011,” says Heineken Open tournament director, Richard Palmer.

The top seed for the 2011 Heineken Open is set to be world No7 Ferrer(Spain). Almagro will be the second seed followed by current champion, Isner at 19 and Albert Montanes of Spain fourth at No25.

The Heineken Open featuring the Panasonic Singles and Doubles will be held at the ASB Tennis Centre, January 10-15, 2011 with the first two days of qualifying January 8-9, 2011 at the Albany Tennis Park, Oteha Valley Road, Albany.

2011 Heineken Open Full Players List

1. David Ferrer (Spain) (7)

2. John Isner (USA) (19)

3. Albert Montanes (Spain) (25)

4. Juan Monaco (Argentina) (26)

5. David Nalbandian (Argentina) (27)

6. Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) (28)

7. Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) (31)

8. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) (34)

9. Marcel Granollers (Spain) (41)

10. Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands) (43)

11. Tommy Robredo (Spain) (50)