Golmard confirms for
Gold Flake Open

It is always nice for a tennis player to return to the scene of his triumph. It brings back fond memories, particularly if the tournament is one which kicked off his career-best season.

French journeyman Jerome Golmard informed Gold Flake Open tournament director Sheila Maniam that he will be back to defend his crown at the January 1 to 7 event at the Nungambakkam Stadium in Madras. He said he plans to begin his 2001 Champions Race by repeating his last years' performance.

Currently running 37th in the ATP Tour champion's race, Golmard is thus set to take on three players ranked in the top 20, namely Magnus Norman at 4th spot, Juan Carlos Ferrero ranked 12th and Cedric Pioline at 14.

The last Gold Flake Open was the 27-year old Frenchman's second career title. In 1999 he won his first, in Dubai. But the 2000 season could be considered the best of his career. While he did not successfully defend his Dubai title, he did get to the quarterfinals, and a week later went on to the semi-finals at Rotterdam, where he dismissed Mariano Zabaleta and Magnus Norman, one of the hottest players on the circuit who he is likely to run into at the coming Gold Flake Open. He fell to countryman Cedric Pioline, another player who will be heading to Madras.

In London, a week later, Golmard upset Juan Carlos Ferrero, yet another player en route to India, in the first round.

Golmard, who lives in the resort area of Boca Raton, Florida, USA, has had his fair share of injuries and his new coach Fred Spindler, who started with him this year, helped put him on a yoga programme in an effort to work on his mind, body and soul. It is certainly paying dividends, as Golmard was a finalist at Challengers in Budapest, Hungary and Prostejov, Czech Republic.

He had a huge week at the Tennis Masters Series in Canada, where he was a quarter-finalist, and stunned Andre Agassi in the first round and also accounted for Marcelo Rios.

His great run continued as he upset Nicolas Lapentti at the US Open and was a quarterfinalist at Tashkent and Vienna.

Thus his confirmation means an interesting contest is on the cards. More so, as the tournament marks the beginning of a fresh ATP Tour champion’s race in 2001