DONALD Young of the United States could be one of two players offered the final wild card in the ATP Malaysian Open, which starts on Saturday at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Tournament director Nick Freyer said he will make an official announcement tomorrow.
“It will be a toss between Young and an upcoming Japanese player,” said Freyer at the tournament’s press conference yesterday.
“We tried to get World No 10 Tsonga (Jo-Wilfried) here but the Frenchman has opted for Metz.”
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Belgian’s David Goffin are the tournament’s other wild card entries.
The tournament, which is one of only five World Tour stops in Asia, carries a total prize money of US$947,750 (RM2.9 million) and features a 28-player singles main draw and 16 doubles.
Russia’s defending champion Mikhail Youzhny and former winner Nikolay Davydenko, together with Czech Republic’s World No 9 Tomas Berdych, the only top-10 player in the event, Spain’s Nicolas Almagro and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic are the top draws in the event.
Freyer picked Berdych, the top seed, as the tournament favourite.
“He has not won a title despite making 12 quarter-final appearances this year. I believe his wait will end in his third appearance in Kuala Lumpur.
“Almargo withdrew last year because of an injury. The Spaniard is also in good form.”
Others in the tournament are newly crowned US Open doubles champions Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, India’s Asian Games champion Somdev Devvarman, Australia's Bernard Tomic and Canada's Milos Raonic.
Malaysia’s Si Yew Ming will play in the doubles main draw with Ryan Harrison of the US.
It will be Yew Ming's third main draw appearance since the tournament's inception in 2009.
Yew Ming partnered Sweden's Joachim Johansson in the inaugural tournament but lost in their first match and in the following year, he was beaten by India's Yuki Bhambri in the singles first round.
The 32-year-old again earned a wild card this year after proving himself in the National Tour, where he dominated all four legs.
“I want to be the first local to win a match in this tournament. The closest I came was winning a set in 2009," said Yew Ming.
The former Sea Games medallist will also play singles qualifying along with Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam and debutant Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak.
“This will be my first ATP tournament and it will be a exciting new experience for me. I am not setting a high target as this event will be my first major,” said Ahmad Deedat.
Tickets are available at www.MalaysianOpenTennis.com or www.Ticketpro.com.my.
