Sydney NSW, Australia, 4 December 2014 | Tennis Australia

Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) and six of the top 10 women will headline star-studded fields at the Apia International Sydney from 11-17 January 2015.

The 2009 US Open winner has been granted a wildcard entry and will start as the tournament favourite, despite a tough year on tour with injuries.

“I love playing in Sydney. The city and the fans are great and I can’t wait to come back and defend my title,” said del Potro.

“Last year I played some of my best tennis there and it is the perfect way to start the year.  I am looking forward to being back in Sydney as it is one of my favourite cities to play.

“I remember there were a lot of Argentine fans who came out to support me which was amazing.”

The heavy-hitting del Potro has a protected world ranking of No.7 but this can only be used at a limited number of tournaments and he has opted to take a wildcard in Sydney.

The tournament’s top seed will be the fiery Italian Fabio Fognini (No.20), while the second seed will go to 23-year-old David Goffin (BEL), the world No.22 and 2014 Comeback Player of the Year who burst onto the international scene in 2012 when he made it to the fourth round of the French Open as a lucky loser.

Six other top 30 players will take to the courts in Sydney, including Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), 2012 champion Julien Benneteau (FRA), Nicolas Almagro (ESP), Leonardo Mayer (ARG), Jeremy Chardy (FRA) and Pablo Cuevas (URU).

They will be joined by local hopes Nick Kyrgios, the Wimbledon quarterfinalist and 2014 Newcombe Medal winner, and 2013 champion Bernard Tomic.

On the women’s side of the draw, an incredible 22 of the world’s top 30 players will head to Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre to compete in what is one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s history.

Two-time Wimbledon champion and world No.4 Petra Kvitova (CZE) will be joined by world No. 3 and French Open runner-up Simona Halep (ROU), 2013 champion Agnieszka Radwanska (POL, No.6), US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki (DEN, No.8), 2014 runner-up Angelique Kerber (GER, No.9) and Australian Open 2014 finalist Dominika Cibulkova (SVK, No.10).

Kvitova, who capped an outstanding 2014 by guiding her Czech Republic team to victory in the Fed Cup, is one of three Grand Slam champions in the women’s field, with local favourite Sam Stosur (AUS) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) also in the line-up.

Apia International Sydney tournament director Alistair MacDonald said fans could look forward to a blockbuster week of tennis in the Harbour City.

“We have made multiple changes to our event in 2015 and are thrilled we are able to complement these with another world class line-up of stars,” he said.

“We’ll be welcoming back one of the most popular players we’ve ever had in defending champion Juan Martin del Potro and our women’s field this year is one of the strongest you will see outside a Grand Slam.

“To have Australia’s own rising star Nick Kyrgios, one of the most talked about players on tour at the moment, as well as Sydney favourites Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur is another coup.

“To also welcome six of the greats to compete in our Legends event, including the incomparable John McEnroe and Pat Rafter, is a fantastic result for the tournament and incredibly exciting for Sydney tennis fans.”

The official Apia International Sydney 2015 fields

Women

[3] Simona Halep (ROU)
[4] Petra Kvitova (CZE)*
[6] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
[8] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
[9] Angelique Kerber (GER)
[10] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
[11] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
[12] Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
[13] Andrea Petkovic (GER)
[14] Sara Errani (ITA)
[16] Lucie Safarova (CZE)
[17] Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
[19] Alize Cornet (FRA)
[20] Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
[21] Shuai Peng (CHN)
[22] Samantha Stosur (AUS)*
[23] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
[24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
[25] Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)
[26] Sabine Lisicki (GER)
[27] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)*
[28] Elina Svitolina (UKR)

Men

[20] Fabio Fognini (ITA)
[22] David Goffin (BEL)
[24] Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
[25] Julien Benneteau (FRA)
[27] Nicolas Almagro (ESP)^
[28] Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
[29] Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
[30] Pablo Cuevas (URU)
[34] Martin Klizan (SVK)
[35] Sam Querrey (USA)
[40] Benjamin Becker (GER)
[41] Pablo Andujar (ESP)
[43] Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
[45] Andreas Seppi (ITA)
[46] Marcel Granollers (ESP)
[47] Gilles Muller (LUX)
[49] Denis Istomin (UZB)
[52] Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
[53] Vasek Pospisil (CAN)
[56] Bernard Tomic (AUS)**
[138] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)* **

* denotes Grand Slam champion
** denotes wild card
^ denotes protected ranking entry
All rankings as at 1 December 2014

Apia International Sydney 2015, proudly supported by Apia in association withVolkswagen and The NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, will take place at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre from 11-17 January 2015.

Apia International Sydney single session tickets and series packages are now available; tickets can be purchased online through Ticketek or by calling 1300 888 104.

For further tournament information please visit www.apiainternational.com.au, and join in the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.

The Apia International Sydney is part of the Emirates Australian Open Series which also includes the Hopman Cup (Perth), Brisbane International, Hobart International and the World Tennis Challenge (Adelaide).