Tournament Preview: Chennai 31 December 2005 - 8 January 2006 CHENNAI OPEN 2006 As a new tennis season dawns, India's only ATP event, the Chennai Open, gets underway. Last year the event was very nearly cancelled due to the devastating tsunami that had hit just a few days before. However, the show went on and Spaniard Carlos Moya again triumphed over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 3-6 6-4 7-6(5) in a repeat of the 2004 final. This year both Moya and Srichaphan will be back and will be joined by several other stars, namely Czech, Radek Stepanek; the up and coming Gilles Muller from Luxembourg and 2003 Australian Open finalist, Rainer Schüttler. Spanish teen sensation and 2005 French Open champion, Rafael Nadal, originally headed the entry list, however, he has had to withdraw due to an ankle injury suffered at the end of last year that put him out of the Masters Cup in Shanghai and several off-season exhibitions in Spain. He has been replaced by Croatian ironman, Ivan Ljubicic, who had an amazing 2005, breaking into the top 10 for the first time, making it to the Masters Cup in Shanghai and winning the Davis Cup for his country. Local hopes will be resting on Indian Davis Cup captain and Olympic bronze medalist, Leander Paes. The experienced doubles player will be teaming up this year with Czech veteran, Martin Damm, in an attempt to win a doubles title at home. Carlos Moya has always played well here, as has the man he has beaten in two consecutive finals, Paradorn Srichaphan. The Spaniard will be looking to go for the hat-trick in 2006, but Srichaphan will also be hungry for the title that has eluded him for the last 2 years. Indeed everyone will be keen to get their 2006 campaign off to a flying start in the lead-up to the Australian Open, all of which will make for an enthralling Chennai Open! Qualifying starts on Saturday 31 December 2005 with main draw commencing on Monday 2 January 2006. The event is held at the SDAT Tennis Stadium which houses a floodlit centre court seating 5800 and 4 outside courts and is located in the Lake Area, Nungumbakkam. The official hotel is The Park Chennai. Tickets may be purchased through the official site (http://www.chennaiopen.org/) and cost on average 100 rupees for the first 4 days and 150 rupees for the final 3 days. India itself is an exotic country rich in culture that is well worth exploring. Chennai, also known as Madras, is the fourth largest city in India and often regarded as the "Gateway to the South". For more information on this vibrant city, visit http://www.indiatourism.com/chennai-travel/. A year after the tsunami ripped through South East Asia, the Chennai Open once again takes place and our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the tragedy. Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: SDAT Tennis Stadium, Chennai, India Dates: 31 December 2005 - 8 January 2006 Singles Qualifying: 32 draw Main Draw Singles: 32 Main Draw Doubles: 16 Surface: Outdoor Hard Prize money: US $355 000 Tournament Director: Fernando Soler Main Draw Entry List: Ljubicic, Ivan CRO Stepanek, Radek CZE Moya, Carlos ESP Srichaphan, Paradorn THA Behrend, Tomas GER Muller, Gilles LUX Phau, Bjorn GER Lee, Hyung-Taik KOR Schuettler, Rainer GER Saulnier, Cyril FRA Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP Dlouhy, Lukas CZE Norman, Dick BEL Vliegen, Kristof BEL Daniel, Marcos BRA Kim, Kevin USA Reynolds, Bobby USA Ascione, Thierry FRA Vanek, Jiri CZE Wang, Yeu-Tzuoo TPE Sabau, Razvan ROM Waske, Alexander GER Delgado, Ramon PAR Mello, Ricardo BRA Vicente, Fernando ESP (WC) (WC) (WC) Alternates: Gimelstob, Justin USA Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP Mazarakis, Vasilis GRE Greul, Simon GER Gicquel, Marc FRA Simon, Gilles FRA Sluiter, Raemon NED Berrer, Michael GER Udomchoke, Danai THA Kunitsyn, Igor RUS Bastl, George SUI Marach, Oliver AUT Capdeville, Paul CHI Mahut, Nicolas FRA Kubot, Lukasz POL