Pavel returns to Chennai for Tata Open 
October 28 2001

Chennai: The Tata Open Tournament Director, Ms Sheila Maniam announced today that Andrei Pavel, currently running 24th in the ATP Champion’s Race, would return to Chennai to participate in the tournament, which is scheduled from December 31, 2001 to January 6, 2002. The 27-year old Pavel’s crowning moment came this year when he became the first Romanian to win a Tennis Masters Series title, beating Patrick Rafter in Montreal.

“Pavel has come to Chennai twice before, and both times, he has played well,” said Ms Maniam. “In 1997, he beat Richard Krajicek who was our No 1 seed and Magnus Norman, before losing to eventual winner Tillstrom in the semi-finals. In 1998, he returned to Chennai and made it to the quarter-finals before losing to the 2nd-seeded Woodbridge. This year, he is ranked higher than ever before, and come January, we hope he does even better,” she added.

"I like coming to India, and have done well here before,” said Pavel, who has won three singles titles and one doubles title in his career. “This year has been my best so far, and I am looking forward to coming to Chennai again and playing better there,” he added.

“This is the highest of the highest for me right now,” said Pavel after he beat Xavier Malisse, Francisco Clavet, Hicham Arazi, Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, and finally Patrick Rafter on his way to the TMS Montreal title. He dropped only three sets in the entire tournament, and the victory helped him jump from 46th in the ATP Champion’s Race to the 20th spot. Pavel seems to like playing in Austria, having captured the title in St Polten in 2000, and reaching the quarter-finals in both Kitzbuhel and St Polten this year. He was also a semi-finalist in Estoril and Rotterdam this year, and has beaten some top-class players on the tour, including Greg Rusedski, Arnaud Clement, Sebastien Grosjean, Jan-Michael Gambill, Nicolas Kiefer and Thomas Johansson, who is also confirmed for the Tata Open 2002.

Pavel, who was born in Constanta, Romania and grew up idolising Ilie Nastase, took up tennis at the age of eight, and had turned pro by sixteen. He currently lives in Monte Carlo with his wife, Simone and his daughter Caroline Elena, loves Italian and Romanian cuisine, and is a fishing enthusiast, especially in New Zealand and Australia — places he loves to visit.

The US $400,000 Tata Open, owned and organised by IMG, is India and South Asia’s only ATP International Series event, and one of only seven in all of Asia. The Tata Open will be held in Chennai for the sixth consecutive year from December 31, 2001 to January 6, 2002. The tournament is conducted under the aegis of the All India Tennis Association and is organised with the active collaboration of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, with assistance of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. The event has been presented the ATP Award for Excellence twice and the award for the Best Promoted Tournament in the International Group over the past four years.