With only 48 hours left before the start of the Mauritius Open, organisers are working flat out to complete preparations for the largest international tennis event in sub-Saharan Africa.

Publicity for the $125,000 tournament, which has attracted some of the biggest names on the ATP Challenger circuit, is in full stride, with the island bedecked in colourful posters and roadside billboards.

Out at the airport, staff of Airports of Mauritius are getting ready to welcome the first batch of players, due in today, while Indian Resort & Spa are rolling out the welcome carpet for the international cast of this tennis spectacular.

Up at the National Tennis Centre at Petit Camp, Phoenix, the final touches are being put to the “arena” where the gladiators of the courts will do battle. Walls have been built, walls have been knocked down. Paths have been laid, new power lines installed.

Four new grandstands have gone up to ensure that spectators get a bird’s eye view of the action. The two British technicians who were on hand to supervise and put together the specially imported seating were impressed by Mauritian efficiency. So much so, that they even offered a job in England to one of the local workers who was helping them.

Said Kevin Cox of Arena Seating in the UK : “The Mauritians who were assisting us did a fantastic job. The heat was intense and the work is pretty heavy. But there were no complaints. In fact, one of the guys was so good that we told him he could have a job with us in England any time.”

There was one “complaint”, however. Said Mr Cox : “I couldn’t believe the heat. It was just fierce. Only a couple of weeks ago I was doing a job in Iceland. Boy, was that different!”

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<B>IF YOU ARE </B>trying to map out your programme for watching the Mauritius Open, maybe the following will help:

Sat, Nov 27: A full day of qualifying matches starting at 10 am.

Sun, Nov 28: Another day of qualifying, starting at noon.

Mon, Nov 29: Round One of the main event, with the first matches starting at 5pm. Play is scheduled to finish at 9.30pm.

Tue, Nov 30: Round One continues, with 11 matches scheduled between 4pm and 9.30pm.

Wed, Dec 1: Eight matches in Round Two, and play starts at 5pm and is scheduled to close at 9.30pm.

Thur, Dec 2: Round Two continues (Play from 5pm to 9.30pm).

Fri, Dec 3: The nail-biting starts. The singles have reached the quarter-final stages and the Doubles are in the semis (5pm-9.30pm).

Sat, Dec 4: Play starts at 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 8.30pm. It’s the Doubles final and the semi-finals of the Singles.

Sun, Dec 5: Only two men left. It’s Final Day. The drama starts at 7pm.

<B> WTH THE </B>Mauritius Open in its inaugural year, and a colourful cast of international tennis players lined up, tournament organisers say that demand for tickets is hot.

Tickets, they explain, are on sale at the two British American Investment headquarters (Port Louis-Pope Hennessy Street, and Curepipe-Royal Road). They are also available at Otayo kiosks at Monoprix (Curepipe), Caudan Waterfront, Super U, Otaya Head Office (Quatre Bornes).

Organisers are advising that booking is advisable if you want to beat the rush. Phone bookings can be made at 602-3130.

<B>WHILE THE</B> spotlight will be on the international stars, the organisers of the Open have not forgotten that one of their main aims is to promote the sport in Mauritius and beyond.

Special tennis clinics have been arranged for Saturday morning at Petit Camp when professionals who will be competing in the tournament will spend some time with some of the best under-15 players from Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South African and Mauritius (of course).

Who knows, we might see some of these young hopefuls competing at the Mauritius Open in the next two or three years…

<B> ONE OF THE</B> latest confirmations of the challengers for the Mauritius Open title is Austria’s No.1 player, Stephan Koubek.

Koubek, who has collected at least $2.2 million in prize money during his career, first made the limelight in 1999 when he qualified and went on to win his first ATP title in Atlanta, US, against Frenchman Grosjean and later advanced to a Grand Slam-best 4th round at Roland Garros.

In September the same year, he reached the final in Bournemouth (lost to Voinea) and helped his country back into World Group with a 3-2 upset victory over Sweden. His 28 clay court wins was second-best on ATP circuit (behind Costa's 30).

In 2000, he captured a second career ATP title at Delray Beach and reached the semis in Mexico City. A year later, he finished in the Top 100 for the fourth consecutive. In the European indoor circuit, he advanced to the semis in Vienna with wins over Vanek, Chang, No. 4 seed Federer (now the world’s No. 1) before losing to Canas.

In 2002, he finished in the Top 50 for second time in his career before opening the season with a Grand Slam-best quarter-final performance at the Australian.

Koubek is nicknamed “Cooley” or “Stef”, drives a Harley Davidson and is a big sports car fanatic. He has a 12-10 career Davis Cup singles record in 12 ties since 1998.