Maverick Agassi grabs last-minute wild card for Hong Kong Open

Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi has accepted a wild card for Monday's US$350,000 Salem Hong Kong Open - adding a splash of colour to the Victoria Park event's already star-studded main draw.

However, there is a question mark over Croatian Goran Ivanisevic and Czech Petr Korda, both of whom are injured.

Agassi, the world number 12, was last night on a flight bound for Hong Kong and is booked to train at noon today at Victoria Park, according to event organisers.

The Las Vegan, who has made a remarkable comeback after a long injury break, waited until the last possible minute to accept one of three main-draw wild-card places.

'We were told that Agassi accepted a wild card and was already on a plane to Hong Kong,' said a spokeswoman for the organisers last night. 'It is already a very strong field and Agassi's presence will make it even stronger.' She added: 'There is a strong chance that Ivanisevic and Korda are unlikely to play. We should have confirmation [today].' Agassi is the 10th top-50 player entered in the tournament and will be a dangerous floater when the draw is made this afternoon. Because he is a wild-card entry, Agassi will not be seeded for the event, which presents the possibility of the American facing one of the top players in the first round.

Dutchman Richard Krajicek, the world number four and winner of last week's Lipton Championship, Australia's US Open champion Patrick Rafter, Hong Kong regular Michael Chang and German veteran Boris Becker are among the other big-name players who will grace Victoria Park next week.