Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open

Summary

The Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open (known as the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open for sponsorship reasons) was a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the International Series of the ATP Tour and was held annually in Asia.

Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open
Defunct tennis tournament
Founded1996
Abolished2007
Editions11
LocationShanghai
China
VenueKSLTA Signature Kingfisher Tennis Stadium
CategoryATP International Series
SurfaceCarpet / Indoors (1996–98)
Hard / Outdoors (1999–01, 2003–04, 2006–07)
Hard / Indoors (2005)
Draw32S/32Q/16D
Prize money$416,000
Websitekingfisherairlinesopen.com

History edit

The tournament was first created in 1996 in Shanghai, China, on indoor carpet courts and as part of the ATP World Series. The second new tournament started by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in Asia in three years, after the Beijing Open, created in 1993, the Shanghai event ran as a men's only tournament during four years, seeing the likes of Michael Chang, Goran Ivanišević, Marcelo Ríos and Magnus Norman reaching the finals. In 2000, the Tier IV Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments of Beijing was moved to Shanghai, allowing the city to hold both the ATP event, now part of the International Series, and the WTA event.[citation needed]

In 2004, as the ATP was increasing its presence in Asia,[1] having brought the Tennis Masters Cup to Shanghai in 2002, working on moving several events to different new locations, the ATP and WTA Shanghai tournaments were both relocated, with the women's, now a Tier II tournament, returning to Beijing, and the men's moving to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.[2] After the 2005 edition, the tournament moved once more to a new country, in India,[3] taking place in the city of Mumbai first, in 2006 and 2007, and then moving again to Bangalore for the 2008 edition.[4] The first event to be held in the new location, though, was cancelled due to security fears, and the first Bangalore Open consequently postponed to the next season.[5] In 2009 a new tournament in Asia was created to replace it, the Malaysian Open, located on Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[6]

Past finals edit

 
The 2007 Men's doubles finals in action at CCI Tennis courts in Mumbai

Singles edit

Location Year Champions Runners-up Score
Bangalore 2008–09 Not held
Mumbai 2007   Richard Gasquet   Olivier Rochus 6–3, 6–4
2006   Dmitry Tursunov   Tomáš Berdych 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(7–5)
Ho Chi Minh City 2005   Jonas Björkman   Radek Štěpánek 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Shanghai 2004   Guillermo Cañas   Lars Burgsmüller 6–1, 6–0
2003   Mark Philippoussis   Jiří Novák 6–2, 6–1
2002 Not held
2001   Rainer Schüttler   Michel Kratochvil 6–3, 6–4
2000   Magnus Norman   Sjeng Schalken 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
1999   Magnus Norman   Marcelo Ríos 2–6, 6–3, 7–5
1998   Michael Chang   Goran Ivanišević 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
1997   Ján Krošlák   Alexander Volkov 6–2, 7–6(7–2)
1996   Andrei Olhovskiy   Mark Knowles 7–6(7–5), 6–2

Doubles edit

Location Year Champions Runners-up Score
Bangalore 2008–09 Not held
Mumbai 2007   Robert Lindstedt
  Jarkko Nieminen
  Rohan Bopanna
  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)
2006   Mario Ančić
  Mahesh Bhupathi
  Rohan Bopanna
  Mustafa Ghouse
6–4, 6–7(6–8), 10–8
Ho Chi Minh City 2005   Lars Burgsmüller
  Philipp Kohlschreiber
  Ashley Fisher
  Robert Lindstedt
5–6(3–7), 6–4, 6–2 [a]
Shanghai 2004   Jared Palmer
  Pavel Vízner
  Rick Leach
  Brian MacPhie
4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11)
2003   Wayne Arthurs
  Paul Hanley
  Zeng Shaoxuan
  Zhu Benqiang
6–2, 6–4
2002 Not held
2001   Byron Black
  Thomas Shimada
  John-Laffnie de Jager
  Robbie Koenig
6–2, 3–6, 7–5
2000   Paul Haarhuis
  Sjeng Schalken
  Petr Pála
  Pavel Vízner
6–2, 3–6, 6–4
1999   Sébastien Lareau
  Daniel Nestor
  Todd Woodbridge
  Mark Woodforde
7–5, 6–3
1998   Mahesh Bhupathi
  Leander Paes
  Todd Woodbridge
  Mark Woodforde
6–4, 6–7, 7–6
1997   Max Mirnyi
  Kevin Ullyett
  Tomas Nydahl
  Stefano Pescosolido
7–6, 6–7, 7–5
1996   Mark Knowles
  Roger Smith
  Jim Grabb
  Michael Tebbutt
4–6, 6–2, 7–6

Notes edit

  1. ^ Tie-breaks were held at 5–5 and not 6–6 in this tournament.

References edit

  1. ^ atptennis.com (30 August 2004). "ATP CEO Courts Asian Booming Tennis Market" (PDF). Retrieved 25 August 2008. [dead link]
  2. ^ atptennis.com (27 April 2005). "ATP Announces Historic ATP-Level Event in Vietnam" (PDF). Retrieved 25 August 2008.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ atptennis.com (10 April 2006). "ATP Announces Second ATP Tournament in India" (PDF). Retrieved 25 August 2008.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ sportsline.com (20 May 2008). "Bangalore replaces Mumbai on ATP Tour circuit". Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  5. ^ atptennis.com (25 August 2008). "Bangalore Suspended Due to Security Fears". Archived from the original on 31 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  6. ^ atpworldtour.com (26 June 2009). "Kuala Lumpur Confirmed As Newest Stop On ATP World Tour". Retrieved 26 June 2009.

External links edit

  • Official website