Sopot tennis tournament gets under way with new record prize money

The Idea Prokom Open, Poland's only ATP tour tennis tournament, starts today in Sopot and boasts Poland's highest-ever total prize fund of $700,000. The tournament has been growing every year since 1992 when it was a women-only tournament with prize money of $25,000. This year, the women's tournament will feature Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, winner of 14 Grand Slam titles, who has earned more than $16 million from tennis. Top players in this year's men's tournament include former world no.1 Carlos Moya, this year's Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian of Argentina and Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic, semi-finalist in this year's Australian Open. Despite several 'wildcards' being handed out to Polish players, allowing them to compete, it is highly unlikely that any of them will repeat the success of Magdalena Grzybowska, who won the event in 1997. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Sports supplement, p. 5) T.J.