Tournament Preview: Basel 22-30 October 2005 DAVIDOFF SWISS INDOORS 2005 The city of Basel is the host of Switzerland's biggest national sporting event and the third largest indoor tournament in the world, which has once again attracted some of the game's best players. Basel, of course, prides itself on being the "home" of Roger Federer and the world number one has always expressed enthusiasm for playing here. He was forced to pull out last year through injury and was looking forward to reappearing in 2005, when he injured his foot in practice and announced he would once again have to miss the event. Despite the untimely injury of Federer, there will be dearth of top players, with Spanish sensation and current world number two, Rafael Nadal, undoubtedly the star attraction. He will be joined by Argentines, Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian (ranked 7 and 9 respectively), as well as fellow Spaniard and 2003 French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who recently reached the final in Vienna; Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, Briton, Tim Henman and Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, recent finalist at the Stockholm Open. Swiss youngster, Stanislas Warwrinka will also be taking part, and the tournament's first wildcard has been awarded to rising British star, Andrew Murray, who reached the third round of Wimbledon and, more recently, the final in Bangkok, losing only to Roger Federer. Czech, Jiri Novak, will also be back to defend his title, after he beat Nalbandian in an epic 5 set thriller final 5-7 6-3 6-4 1-6 6-2. This time last year, Rafael Nadal was just another name on the tennis circuit, this year, fans in Basel will be flocking to see the French Open champion in his bid to claim his first indoor title. Coria and Nalbandian, both of whom do well at this tournament, will also be looking to put in good performances as they seek to secure the coveted spots at the Tennis Masters Cup to be held in Shanghai in November. The end of year drama is all part of the action that spices up this prestigious tournament every year in October. Tournament qualifying is run on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 October starting at 9am and continuing through until approximately 9pm. On Sunday there will also be an exhibition match for fans to enjoy. A peculiarity of this tournament is the fact that there is no play on the Monday, which is when the main draw is made, and play gets underway on Tuesday 25 October. All sessions commence at midday and continue through well into the night. St. Jakobshalle will play host to all the action and if you wish to reserve a Davidoff Swiss Indoors Taxi, you can do so by calling +41 61 321 44 44, or you can get there by taking the number 14 tram from Aeschenplatz and getting off at St. Jakob. The official hotel is the Swissôtel Le Plaza at Messeplatz. Tickets for the event can be booked through the ticket hotline +41 (0) 900 552 225 (at CHF1/min) or online at http://www.davidoffswissindoors.ch/dsi/index_en.shtml where you can see a seating plan as well as purchase ticket vouchers. If you're planning to stay a few days in Basel, the Basel Tourism Guide http://www.baseltourismus.ch/opencms/opencms/bstour/deutsch/index.html and the Baselland Tourism site http://www.baselland-tourismus.ch/ will hopefully give you a few ideas on ways to enjoy yourself away from the tennis as well! Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland Dates: 22 - 30 October 2005 Singles Qualifying: 32 Main Draw Singles: 32 Main Draw Doubles: 16 Surface: Indoor carpet Prize Money: € 659, 000 Tournament Director: Roger Brennwald Main Draw Players: Nadal, Rafael ESP Coria, Guillermo ARG Nalbandian, David ARG Stepanek, Radek CZE Gonzalez, Fernando CHI Hrbaty, Dominik SVK Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP Novak, Jiri CZE Henman, Tim GBR Berdych, Tomas CZE Haas, Tommy GER Volandri, Filippo ITA Acasuso, Jose ARG Massu, Nicolas CHI Chela, Juan Ignacio ARG Srichaphan, Paradorn THA Rochus, Christophe BEL Wawrinka, Stanislas SUI Zib, Tomas CZE Martin, Alberto ESP Calleri, Agustin ARG Mayer, Florian GER Hernych, Jan CZE (WC) Murray, Andrew GBR Alternates: Sabau, Razvan ROM Lapentti, Nicolas ECU Seppi, Andreas ITA Karlovic, Ivo CRO Santoro, Fabrice FRA Baghdatis, Marcos CYP Behrend, Tomas GER Kohlschreiber, Philipp GER Dlouhy, Lukas CZE Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP Burgsmuller, Lars GER Schuettler, Rainer GER Popp, Alexander GER Doubles Acceptances: Bob Bryan (USA) Mike Bryan (USA) Wayne Black (ZIM) Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) Mark Knowles (BAH) Daniel Nestor (CAN) Leander Paes (IND) Nenad Zimonjic (SCG) Stephen Huss (AUS) Wesley Moodie (RSA) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) Martin Rodriguez (ARG) Martin Garcia (ARG) Mariano Hood (ARG) Michael Kohlmann (GER) Alexander Waske (GER)