"If you don't have Vishy Anand playing a huge chess tournament here in India, as a fan you will miss seeing him play. The same goes for Prakash Padukone in badminton and in my time it was the same with me in tennis. So, as a fan, I'm going to miss watching Sania here I Bangalore. I have always enjoyed watching her play," Amritraj observed.

Dogged by one controversy after another since the start of the season, the Hyderabadi pulled out of the $600,000 Tier II WTA Tour event fearing more controversies. She had said Globosport, who manage her, had advised her against playing in India.

"I've always felt that when you have major events in India it's good for you as a player to play it mainly because you have a chance of faring better against the big players when you're playing them at home.

"At the end of the day, it's the player's decision. I feel strongly about that. We have to respect that. I'm sure Sania has her reasons," Amritraj said.

As regards, Shikha Uberoi's chances against Hungarian sensation Agnes Szavay, Amritraj said: “Shikha knows the conditions here. She has been here before whereas it is the first time here for Agnes. If she (Shikha) plays solid tennis and keeps a check on errors I see her doing some damage."

"The first couple of matches will be crucial especially for big players," Amritraj said about the conditions. "It's about settling down to conditions like these, playing in altitude always takes some adjusting to. I see the middle rung players faring better. Patty Schnyder could do well, she's experienced and she doesn't lose a match, you have to beat her."