By Nangamso Mabindla
5 February 2008

THREE South Africans were named by the South African Tennis Association (Sata) to fill the remaining three wild card spots for the upcoming SAA South African Tennis Open to be played at the Selborne Park Stadium in East London from 12 to 17 February.

Raven Klaasen, Izak van der Merwe and Ruan Roelofse will join world number 22 Ivan Ljubicic as the four wild cards in the main draw direct. The announcement, made on Sunday, 3 February by Sata, guarantees that South Africa will have six players in the main draw. The other three are Rik de Voest, Wesley Moodie and Kevin Anderson.

Sata chief executive officer Ian Smith said that Klaasen, who won the Cape Classic on Saturday, was a former Davis Cup player and would be making his first ATP Tour main draw appearance.

"Van der Merwe, who, like Klaasen, has represented South Africa in the Davis Cup, is the highest ranked South African on the alternate list. His wild card grant will prevent him from having to contest the challenging qualifying tournament for the remaining main draw spots next weekend," Smith said.

Roelofse earned his wild card spot through his talent and dedication.

"[Roelofse] is one of our country's brightest prospects. His commitment to South African tennis and good form of late helped us make the decision to award him with a wild card. Sata is committed, through this event, to giving our promising players of the future a chance of breaking through on to the ATP Tour. Hopefully [Roelofse] will take up the opportunity given to him and make that important break," Smith added.

The SA Open starts on Tuesday, 12 February, with the final played on Sunday, 17 February.

Tickets for each day are R20 for adults and R5 for learners and are available at Selborne Park Stadium daily. There is also a season ticket at R60. Tickets can also be bought at several outlets in East London - Sportslife (Devereux Centre – Vincent), Sportsman's Warehouse (Retail Park – Beacon Bay) and Classic Eyes (Vincent Park Centre).