FORMER National No 1 V. Selvam will spearhead Malaysia's challenge at the inaugural International Tennis Federation (ITF) Malaysian Seniors Championships at the National Tennis Complex, Jalan Duta on Oct 17-23.
Tournament director Fadilah Ghani said Selvam, who will be competing in the men's 40-45 and 45-50 age groups, will be among the title contenders based on his current performance.
"He is still in excellent competitive shape as he continues to compete regularly at local level and still has a good serve-and-volley game to go with his vast playing experience," said Fadilah.
"Together with Lee Vun Tsir (35-40) and Juan Los Santos (60-65), I am sure he will be among the Malaysians capable of winning a title here," added the former national coach.
Fadilah, who managed to get the tournament sanctioned by the ITF, said the tournament will also feature players from Thailand, Nepal, India, Germany and Australia, which means the standard of play will be at a high level.
"There are already more 20 foreign players registered for the event. And with senior players, you can always expect them to play a very smart game. so it will be quite competitive," Fadilah added.
Fadilah, who has been actively involved in organising ITF, ATP and WTA tournaments in Uzbekistan for the past seven years, urged local senior players to compete in the event to collect ITF seniors points which will put them in the running to qualify for the ITF World Championships in San Diego, California next year.
"Local players should take the opportunity to take part in the championship this year as they can earn ITF points and can also gauge their level of performance against quality foreign players," said Fadilah.
"Being the first year of competition, the tournament is still lacking in participation so this is a golden opportunity for our players to rack up the points before it gets tougher next year."
Malaysians competing in the Grade 5 tournament, which has seven age groups (from 35 to 70 years for both men and women), will enjoy a subsidised entry fee of RM50 instead of the US$60 that oreign players are charged.
Local players will also be registered for a ITF IPIN, which serves as a player's ranking identification number, for free and will be valid for a year.
For more information, contact Fadilah at 0165979016 or email fadilah02@hotmail.com or visit www.malaysianseniorsopen.com
