Indian tennis fans, Bangaloreans in particular, are probably yet to recover from the shock of Sania Mirza's non-participation in the Bangalore Open, but the list of big names for the $600,000 Tier II WTA Tour event is just growing.
Hungarian sensation Agnes Szavay joined that list on Monday. The 19-year-old will be in a field that already features the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, Patty Schynder, Vera Zvonareva and Sybille Bammer for the richest tennis event in the country that gets under way on March 3.
"I'm so excited to be coming to play in India. People who have been to India paint such a beautiful picture of the country. It has always been a dream of mine to travel to India. I look forward to playing the Bangalore Open," said Szavay in a statement.
The Hungarian enjoyed a brilliant season last year, bagging two titles and notching three impressive top-10 wins. One of that came in the final of the Beijing event against world No 4 Jelena Jankovic.
On Sunday, Szavay went down to world No 6 Anna Chakvetadze in the final of the Open Gaz de France in three tough sets. That effort saw her climb to a career-high ranking of No 18 on Monday.
"Agnes Szavay is more familiar to Indians. She was Leander Paes' mixed doubles partner at the Australian Open last month," said Sunder Raju, the Tournament Director and KSLTA secretary.
"At 19, she has already drawn admiration from all quarters and is one of the fastest movers in women's tennis," he added.
She certainly was the fastest mover in the rankings last year. Starting the season ranked 207th, she closed the season at 20. Come next month, the Hungarian teenager would be out to prove a point or two to the Williams sisters and the rest of the field.
