Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open

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

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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

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

Singles

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Location Year Champions Runners-up Score
Bengaluru 2008–09Not held
Mumbai 2007France Richard GasquetBelgium Olivier Rochus6–3, 6–4
2006Russia Dmitry TursunovCzech Republic Tomáš Berdych6–3, 4–6, 7–6(7–5)
Ho Chi Minh City 2005Sweden Jonas BjörkmanCzech Republic Radek Štěpánek6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Shanghai 2004Argentina Guillermo CañasGermany Lars Burgsmüller6–1, 6–0
2003Australia Mark PhilippoussisCzech Republic Jiří Novák6–2, 6–1
2002Not held
2001Germany Rainer SchüttlerSwitzerland Michel Kratochvil6–3, 6–4
2000Sweden Magnus NormanNetherlands Sjeng Schalken6–4, 4–6, 6–3
1999Sweden Magnus NormanChile Marcelo Ríos2–6, 6–3, 7–5
1998United States Michael ChangCroatia Goran Ivanišević4–6, 6–1, 6–2
1997Slovakia Ján KrošlákRussia Alexander Volkov6–2, 7–6(7–2)
1996Russia Andrei OlhovskiyThe Bahamas Mark Knowles7–6(7–5), 6–2

Doubles

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Notes

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

References

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  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". Retrieved 22 August 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  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.
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