Tournament Preview: Beijing 12-18 September 2005

STARS HEAD TO THE FAR EAST

The China Open 2005 will once again see the stars of men's tennis head to the Beijing Tennis Centre to battle it out 
between 12 and 18 September. World number two and reigning French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, of Spain will be joined by 
his other high-profile compatriots; Feliciano Lopez,  Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, while Argentines Guillermo Coria 
and David Nalbandian will also be seeking to capture the title. With reigning champion, Marat Safin, unable to attend due 
to injury, fellow Russians, world number 7 Nikolay Davydenko and last year's finalist, Mikhail Youzhny, will be there to 
fly the flag for their country. Explosive youngster Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who defeated Andy Roddick in the first 
round of this year's US Open, world number 24, Dominik Hrbaty, and the Thai, Paradorn Srichaphan, are other big names to 
have accepted to play the tournament. 

Will Rafael Nadal be able to continue his stellar 2005 season in the far East? After capturing his first hardcourt title 
at the Montreal Masters in August, he has proven a force to be reckoned with on this surface aswell, however he will have 
tough opposition in Beijing. Ferrero and Moya certainly know how to play well on hard courts, being respective US Open 
and Australian Open finalists. Lopez has been a finalist at Dubai and New Haven and won the Vienna title in 2004 and Coria 
has also been a finalist in Miami. The experience and talent of the players at the China Open 2005 will undoubtedly make 
for an exciting and exhilarating tournament. 

Qualifying for the event begins on Saturday 10 September, with the main draw commencing on Monday the 12th. Tickets may be 
purchased online from Emma Ticket or by phone on (010) 65535699. The tournament is held at the Beijing Tennis Centre, 1 
Guangcai Lu, Fengtai district. Directions for getting to the venue, can be viewed by clicking on the map 
http://photo.sohu.com/20040831/Img221810202.jpg. If you're thinking of coming as a tourist to Beijing, you might want to 
consider basing yourself at the Shangri-La Beijing, the tournament hotel, from which you can experience the sights and 
sounds of this exotic city. Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China...and world class tennis 
players are all part of the experience that is the China Open 2005 in Beijing. 

ATP Tournament Fast Facts:
Venue: Beijing Tennis Centre, Beijing, China
Dates: 10-18 September 2005
Singles Qualifying: 32 draw
Main Draw Singles: 32 
Main Draw Doubles: 16
Surface: Outdoor hard
Prize money: US $475 000
Tournament Director: Ekkehard Rathgeber

Main Draw Players: 
1 Nadal, Rafael ESP 2 
2 Davydenko, Nikolay RUS 7 
3 Coria, Guillermo ARG 9 
4 Nalbandian, David ARG 12 
5 Johansson, Thomas SWE 15 
6 Hrbaty, Dominik SVK 24 
7 Lopez, Feliciano ESP 26 
8 Youzhny, Mikhail RUS 27 
9 Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP 28 
10 Moya, Carlos ESP 29 
11 Srichaphan, Paradorn THA 42 
12 Nieminen, Jarkko FIN 54 
13 Muller, Gilles LUX 59 
14 Lee, Hyung-Taik KOR 63 
15 Kohlschreiber, Philipp GER 76 
16 Arthurs, Wayne AUS 77 
17 Kim, Kevin USA 78 
18 Koubek, Stefan AUT 86 
19 Burgsmuller, Lars GER 92 
20 Wessels, Peter NED 93 
21 Gimelstob, Justin USA 98 
22 Schuettler, Rainer GER 104 
23 Phau, Bjorn GER 105 
24 (SE) 
25 (SE) 
26 (WC) 
27 (WC) 
28 (WC) 
29 (Q) 
30 (Q) 
31 (Q) 
32 (Q) 

Alternates 
1. Norman, Dick BEL 106 
2. Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 108 
3. Moodie, Wesley RSA 113 
4. Bastl, George SUI 114 
5. Waske, Alexander GER 115 
6. Clement, Arnaud FRA 117 
7. Falla, Alejandro COL 124 
8. Ventura, Santiago ESP 125 
9. Udomchoke, Danai THA 128 
10. Vicente, Fernando ESP 129 
11. Ryderstedt, Michael SWE 134 
12. Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 136 
13. Brzezicki, Juan Pablo ARG 137 
14. Karanusic, Roko CRO 138 
15. Mertinak, Michal SVK 139