Tournament Preview: Bangkok 26 Sept-2 Oct 2005 THAILAND OPEN 2005 The Thailand Open has once again lived up to its reputation of attracting the big names of tennis to Impact Arena. The list of stars is headed by none other than defending champion and undisputed world number 1, Roger Federer of Switzerland. He will be joined by German heartthrob, Tommy Haas and Gilles Muller of Luxembourg who recently beat Roddick in the first round of the US Open. Of course, the local fans will also have something to cheer about with the appearance of their local man, Paradorn Srichaphan, who will be desperate to prevail in his home city. Other notable acceptances for the tournament were Russian world number 4 and last year's semfinalist, Marat Safin, and rising French teen, Richard Gasquet and Brit, Tim Henman. However, due to injury, they will not be able to compete this year. To make up for these losses, the Australian duo of Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis have been granted wildcards for the event, and will definitely add more excitement to the tournament. Hewitt, former world number 1 and recent semifinalist at the US Open, will be making his debut in Thailand, as will his compatriot, Philippoussis, who is on the comeback trail after a year riddled with injury. Roger Federer will be aiming for this 11th title for 2005 and his second Thailand Open crown when he takes to Centre Court at Impact Arena. Last year he faced an injured Andy Roddick in the final...who will his rivals be this year? Hewitt proved that he was more than willing to step up the challenge and try to break the Swiss player's dominance by taking him to 4 sets in the semifinals of the US Open this year. Haas has also been a semifinalist at the Australian Open and has hardcourt titles to his name. However, without a doubt, the player with the most passionate desire of all to win this title is the local boy, Paradorn Srichaphan. As soon as he steps out on the arena, a massive roar erupts from the stands...such is his popularity in his home country. Srichaphan has indeed done a lot to promote tennis in Thailand - he has served as an ambassador for the game and has himself achieved a career high singles ranking of 9. No one would disagree that it would be wonderful to see Srichaphan win his home title...there are however, a few obstacles to overcome before he can lift the trophy on 2 October, and one of them is the Federer Phenomenon. Event qualifying begins on Saturday 24 September and the main draw competition commences on Monday 26 September. The traditional opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday 27 September. Tickets may be purchased online from Thaiticketmaster.com http://www.thaiticketmaster.com/sport/atp_eng.php and cost 300 Baht for qualifying, 500 and 800 baht for the first and second round respectively and 1000/1500 baht per round for quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. Day sessions from Saturday 24 September to Friday 30th September commence at 12.30pm and night sessions at 7.00pm (except Tuesday which starts at 6.30pm for the Opening Ceremony). Semi finals and finals day start at 2.30pm. For more information, click here http://www.thailandopen.net/2005/tickets.php ...Thai residents may view the tournament on tv through the host broadcaster Channel 3 Thailand. The tournament is held at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok which is about a 45 minute drive (depending on traffic) from the official hotel, the Dusit Thani http://www.dusit.com/hotel/dtb/index.html, which is located in the city centre. If you plan to catch the train to the venue, you can take the express way (approx. 30 minutes) or early morning shuttle buses (8.30am, 8.45am) depart from other major city centre hotels. For more information on directions to the arena, click here http://www.impact.co.th/direction.php . Bangkok http://www.bangkok.com/ really is a wonderful place to hold an event like this. This vibrant metropolis has everything you need to make for an exhilarating week - from its magnificent temples, to its excellent shopping, restaurants and nightlife, Bangkok really is a hive of excitement. Having personally attended this tournament in 2003 and 2004, I would definitely recommend it...so if you like tennis and you like exotic tourism destinations, come and experience the Thailand Open. Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: Impact Arena http://www.impact.co.th , Muang Thong Thani, Bangkok, Thailand Dates: 24 September - 2 October 2005 Singles Qualifying: 32 draw http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/posting/2005/1720/QS.pdf Main Draw Singles: 32 http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/posting/2005/1720/MDS.pdf Main Draw Doubles: 16 http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/posting/2005/1720/MDD.pdf Surface: Indoor taraflex Prize money: US $550 000 Tournament Director: Allon Khakshouri Main Draw Players: Federer, Roger SUI 1 Haas, Tommy GER 28 Spadea, Vincent USA 42 Soderling, Robin SWE 44 Srichaphan, Paradorn THA 45 Nieminen, Jarkko FIN 53 Ginepri, Robby USA 58 Muller, Gilles LUX 59 Horna, Luis PER 63 Kim, Kevin USA 74 Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 76 Minar, Ivo CZE 77 Vik, Robin CZE 85 Lapentti, Nicolas ECU 87 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP 93 Djokovic, Novak SCG 97 Gimelstob, Justin USA 99 Dlouhy, Lukas CZE 100 Kucera, Karol SVK 101 Saretta, Flavio BRA 105 Norman, Dick BEL 109 Bastl, George SUI 113 (WC) Hewitt, Lleyton AUS (WC) Philippoussis, Mark AUS Alternates: 1. Ventura, Santiago ESP 123 2. Wang, Yeu-Tzuoo TPE 124 3. Ulihrach, Bohdan CZE 127 4. Lisnard, Jean-Rene FRA 128 5. Reynolds, Bobby USA 129 6. Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 133 7. Greul, Simon GER 135 8. Mertinak, Michal SVK 137 9. Udomchoke, Danai THA 138 10. Karanusic, Roko CRO 139 11. Ryderstedt, Michael SWE 140 12. Gambill, Jan-Michael USA 142 13. Lapentti, Giovanni ECU 143 14. Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP 145 15. Labadze, Irakli GEO 146