Raonic and Tomic sign on for Thailand Open

At No 24 in the world, Raonic, 22, is the youngest player in the top 30 and is touted by tennis gurus as a future No 1. Standing 196cm tall, the Montenegro-born player is one of the biggest servers on the tour which explains why he has already bagged three career titles, in Chennai this year and San Jose between 2011 and 2012.

The Canadian ace is a rare serve-and-volleyer these days. He leaped from 156 at the start of 2011 to reach a career high of 21 in June. He will make his debut in the US $608,500 Thailand Open scheduled at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani from September 22–30.

After taking part in two local Challengers with modest results here two years ago, 20-year-old Tomic will return to Bangkok as one of the most promising players in the Open. With his solid groundstrokes and physical strength, the Australian reached the last eight at Wimbledon last year and climbed to his best ranking at 27 in the world.  Although no top five players have been confirmed , this year’s field should be mouth-watering for real tennis fans with Tipservic, one of the in-form players at the moment who just lifted his third Tour victory in Stuttgart last week, , 2009 champion Gilles Simon, crowd favourites Fernando Verdasco and two talented Frenchmen Gael Monfils, 2011 semi-finalist, and Richard Gasquet having committed to play.

Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand president Suwant Liptapanlop believes the seven players will present entertaining tennis no less than the top five. He also said there could be more star players joining later.

“As of now, players are concerned about the Olympics and it’s almost three months before the tournament. So, they don’t want to make any decision yet. We are talking about some top 20 guys coming over here and should know the answer after the Olympics,’’ said Suwat.

As part of the celebrations of its 10th year, fans at the Thailand Open will have a chance to participate in a special anniversary campaign and win one of 10 special Thailand Open experiences including tossing the coin for the tournament final, winning VIP courtside box seats, being a guest reporter and interviewing their favourite player, and much more. Tickets (from Bt300) go on sale tomorrow at Thaiticketmajor and Thai Post outlets. Call (02) 262 3838 for more details.