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| Tennis bonanza in Chennai |
| The annual ATP Gold Flake Open (April 5 to
April 11, 1999) at the Nungambakkam tennis courts was as usual
a gala affair, providing a feast of tennis for Chennai’s
enthusiastic spectators. The event was a triumph of organisation
for the international sponsors IMG and the Tamil Nadu Tennis
Association. On the tennis front, the tournament had its by
now customary quota of surprises, with several seeded players
falling by the wayside, including top seed Carlos Moya and Karol
Kucera. The Indian doubles pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi
won the title for the second year in succession. |
| All India Tennis Association Vice President
N Sankar gave away the Sports Journalists Association award
to Paes and Bhupathi on the opening day. |
| The guest list was star-studded as always.
Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan and Ramanathan Krishnan were
among the distinguished visitors at the courts. A successful
charity auction conducted by IMG in association with Hotel Park
Sheraton raised Rs.2.40 lakh for donation to National Association
for the Blind. Vijay Amritraj was the colourful auctioneer.
IMG’s Ravi Krishnan and Park Sheraton General Manager
Manoj Virmani played key roles in the auction. |
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