From a professional standpoint, the Year of the Tiger couldn't really have started much worse for Brian Catton.
Having been forced to 'downsize' his sports promotion business at the end of last year, his firm received a further hammer blow when Philip Morris ended their 10-year backing of the Marlboro Championships last week.
Having attracted players such as Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, and Boris Becker in recent years, the popular exhibition event is one of Catton's yearly mainstays.
Not surprisingly, Catton is bitterly disappointed that the tournament now faces a bleak future.
Catton - a non-smoking sports fan - believes the tobacco advertising ban will end top-class tennis players' appearances in Hong Kong.
'They are the companies that have the money. You are looking at an awful lot of money to get these players in Hong Kong and it is going to be difficult in the current climate finding a sponsor with the sort of budget they have,' he said.
