DISRUPTIONS due to water leaks at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil are set to be a thing of the past with the organisers of the Malaysian Open Kuala Lumpur having done modifications to the venue in preparation for the Sept 22-30 event.
Tournament director Nick Freyer said a protective membrane has been applied onto the roof to prevent any such leakages from occurring this year in addition to a number of other minor improvements to the tournament venue.
The problem has plagued the Putra Stadium in recent years, which last year saw authorities covering affected areas in the stadium with plastic tarps to stop rain water dripping into the stadium during the tournament.
"Leaks, which were quite embarrassing for us in the past, should not be a problem for us anymore," said Freyer, during the media briefing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"They (the contractors) have applied a first layer of membrane on top of the roof with no visual effect to the interior of the stadium. This should stop the rain from affecting us anymore.
"They will, however, be adding another layer of membrane just to make sure (it does not recur) as it can deteriorate over time after being exposed to the sun and other elements."
Meanwhile, Freyer hinted that a "good name" is likely to get one of the remaining two wildcards, the first of which went to American Bryan Baker. However, he declined to name the player.
"In tennis there are two big (comeback) stories this year. One is Bryan Baker and the other is this guy," said Freyer.
"He is one of the older players on the tour and has beaten Roger Federer this year. I would rather not give any names at the moment out of respect to him.
"We will officially announce who gets the wildcards after the US Open ends as there is always the possibility of getting an unexpected big name at the end of each grand slam."
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