NZ tennis tournaments feeling blue

Instead of grassy green, it will be cool blue when New Zealand's two professional tennis tournaments are staged in Auckland this summer.

The green hard courts at the ASB Tennis Centre in Stanley St are undergoing a facelift by being painted blue ahead of the women's ASB Classic and the men's Heineken Open.

Both tournaments are build-up events for next month's Australian Open, and the colour change is aimed at getting players familiar with what they will see in Melbourne.

The first Grand Slam of the year will feature a new blue hard court surface called Plexicushion, a change from the previous green Rebound Ace, which is the same surface as in Auckland.

"We always try to get it as close as we can to the Australian Open," Auckland Tennis chief executive and Heineken Open tournament director Graham Pearce said today.

"What the players will be playing on will look and feel very similar to Melbourne."

There are plans to lay Plexicushion at the centre as a part of a major redevelopment in 2009.

This season's ASB Classic runs from December 31 to January 5 and the big drawcard will be American Lindsay Davenport, the former world No 1 and the winner of three Grand Slam singles titles.

The Heineken Open follows from January 7 to 12 and features six current or former top-10 players, including Spain's David Ferrer, the defending champion and world No 5.

-NZPA