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French Open holder Carlos Moya hopes to reign at Gold Flake Open

French Open title-holder, Carlos Moya is one of the contenders at the Gold Flake Open to be held in Madras this April.

For Moya, who has been ranked fourth in the world, this will mark his first trip to India. The 22-year-old from Majorca says he is looking forward to playing in India and will do some research for the trip.

"I am going to talk to Bhupathi and Paes about it, but I have already been told many good things about the Gold Flake Open and it should be nice to play there," says Moya.

"I've not eaten too many curries before, so I'll ask Leander and Mahesh about that too. I know it will be hot in Madras but that is okay for me because I like playing when it is hot. It is always good for us tennis players to go to countries that haven't seen us before. I hope that people in India will be happy about the way I play," Moya said.

Moya was thrust into the limelight of professional tennis when he reached the final of the Australian Open in 1997. He became a name, a pin-up for young tennis players. He had the flashy looks and he had a game to match. It took no time for the international media to crown him "King Carlos."

But if the Australian Open effort was impressive, it was in June 1998 that this mild-mannered player joined an elite club. Moya became a Grand Slam champion when he won the French Open, becoming only the third Spaniard in the Open-era of tennis to win on the city courts of Roland Garros.

Tournament manager Ravi Krishnan said. "We know tennis fans in India are among the most knowledgeable in the world and we really believe they are going to enjoy watching Carlos in action. 1998 was just outstanding for Carlos because, in addition to the French Open, he also won the Monte Carlo Open, was a finalist at the season ending ATP Tour World Championship and a semi-finalist at the US Open."

The Gold Flake Open, India's first ATP tour event, has been recently honoured the ATP tour award for excellence in the international group, consisting of 13 tournaments, at the ATP tour championships in Hanover, Germany.