Auckland 2011: Almagro Gets Wildcard

Nicolas Almagr, who last season lost 60 63 to Marc Gicquel, received a wildcard to play the Heineken Open in Auckland.

Organizers said they are looking past his lackluster performance given by the Spaniard who was suffering from a wrist injury at the moment.

"Even though this year he had an injury early in the match and there was some criticism of his effort after that, I guess you have to be realistic and remember that this is someone preparing for the Australian Open and that has to take precedence," tournament director Richard Palmer said. "Hopefully he's matured."

"The decision was made easier by the fact that no appearance fee had to be paid. It's a funny situation where we're not paying him anything, the wildcard is payment enough and with the talent he's got he could blow everyone away here," added Palmer.