Opinion

Every sport should have its day in the sun, an annual event that attracts the interest of people who do not normally follow the sport – or perhaps any sport – closely. Tennis has its time in the sun today, weather permitting, and for the next two weeks as some
of the world’s top 50 players compete in Auckland.

The organisers and sponsors of the ASB Classic do well to give us this event every summer. Several cities in Australia are also staging preparatory tournaments in the weeks leading to the first grand slam event of the calendar, Melbourne’s Australian Open. The competition to attract players is keen.

Auckland uses more than a modest purse to keep players coming back. It aims to provide them with a warm, friendly, enjoyable experience of Auckland’s summer attractions in between the hours of practice and play they require as they begin another year on their professional tours.

Watching these players from courtside – and few stadiums in the world put you as close to them as Auckland’s does – is to see athletes who have to be superbly fit. Few sports are as gruelling as tennis at this level, where every standard shot has to be pounded with full force and fine accuracy.

That is as true of the women’s game these days as the men’s. Whether it’s the women this week or the men next week, the power and precision on court will be a revelation to anyone who has seen this level of tennis only on television.