Australian Open schedule victim of overcrowded tennis calendar

MELBOURNE: A crowded international sports calendar has forced organisers to bring forward the dates of the 2007 Australian Open tennis tournament despite calls from players for a longer off-season, officials said on Tuesday. The 2007 Australian Open was originally scheduled to be held from January 22 to February 4 to give players a longer post-Christmas break before attempting their first Grand Slam competition of the year. But Tennis Australia said Tuesday the dates had reverted back to the traditional third and fourth weeks of the month, January 15 to 28. “When the international tennis community embarked on this process of looking at creating a longer off-season, moving the dates of the Australian Open was one option considered,” Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said. He said the decision on the dates would not be reconsidered for some time. The 2006 Australian Open will be held from January 16 to 29