Lucrative exhibition tournaments building up to January's Australian tennis Open continue to lure the top men's players away from Auckland's Heineken Open.
The Kooyong Classic lead-up tournament has attracted several Heineken Open targets including Russian Mikhail Youzhny and France's Gael Monfils as well as five top-15 players and the veteran Australian Lleyton Hewitt.
Heineken Open director Richard Palmer admits it's tough to compete with the big dollars on offer.
Palmer says they have offers in on three top players but whether it happens remains to be seen, with those types of players having options and their asking rate possibly too high.
He thinks the situation's similar to most years for the Open and is hopeful that a move to become part of the Australian Open series next year will make it easier to secure top players.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that the champion John Isner will return to defend his title in January, as well as the women's Classic champion Yanina Wickmayer.
The new plexi-cushion surface is being laid from Monday as the ASB Tennis Centre undergoes a $26 million redevelopment that includes a new stand between centre court and the outer courts, which will also house a players' lounge, a medical treatment centre and improved sponsor boxes.
The new surface is the same as that used at the Australian Open. Palmer says having the same playing surface is an important development so the Heineken Open is able to be treated as an ideal warm-up to the Melbourne grand slam tournament.
