Tournament Preview: Ho Chi Minh City 24 Sept-2 Oct 2005 TENNIS HEADS TO VIETNAM In an attempt by the ATP to make tennis more "global" and more recognised in Asia, Ho Chi Minh City, capital of Vietnam, will be hosting its first ever ATP-level tournament in 2005, after previously only hosting Challenger events. It takes the place of the tournament previously held in Shanghai during these dates, due to the fact that Shanghai instead will hold the season-ending Masters Cup for the next 3 years. This move is a very positive step towards a greater global appreciation of the sport and encouraging people from all parts of the world to enjoy it live. The inaugral Vietnam Open will see the likes of 2005 French Open finalist, Mariano Puerta; 2002 Australian Open champion, Thomas Johansson; 2004 Paris Bercy finalist, Radek Stepanek and 2002 Australian Open semifinalist, Jiri Novak, take to the courts at the Phu Tho Indoor Sports Complex. Nicolas Kiefer of Germany is another notable acceptance, as is his compatriot and 2003 Australian Open finalist, Rainer Schüttler. The tournament will take place thanks to ITP and Bec Tero, with other main sponsors such as Heineken, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz and Thai Airways. The venue is the Phu Tho Indoor Sports Complex, which was built in 2003 for the SEA Games, with two hardcourts subsequently being constructed with a seating capacity of 5000. It is located approximately 20 minutes from the city centre and the official tournament hotel is the Park Hyatt Saigon http://www.saigon.park.hyatt.com/. The qualifying gets underway on Saturday 24th September at 12 noon with the main draw commencing on Monday 26th September. All day sessions begin at 12 noon while the night sessions (which run from Monday 26 - Friday 30 September) start at 7.00pm (with the exception of Tuesday which starts at 7.30pm due to the Opening Ceremony at 7pm). The finals weekend will commence at 2pm. Package deals for all 14 sessions cost 150 USD for the grandstand and 120 USD for zone C seating (view seat plan here http://www.thaiticketmaster.com/sport/images/vo/seating_vo.gif ). Tickets may be purchased from Thaiticketmaster http://www.thaiticketmaster.com/sport/vietnamopen_eng.php or by contacting the various options available at http://www.vietnamopen.org/2005/ticket/index.htm . Ho Chi Minh City itself is fast becoming an emerging tourism destination in Asia with its great shopping, dining and attractions, for more travel information on the city, visit the Lonely Planet Guide site http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/vietnam/ho-chi-minh/ and get ready to welcome high class tennis in Vietnam. Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: Phu Tho Indoor Sports Complex, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 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/2005/890/QS.pdf Main Draw Singles: 32 http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/posting/2005/890/MDS.pdf Main Draw Doubles: 16 http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/posting/2005/890/MDD.pdf Surface: Indoor (greenset) Prize Money: US $380 000 Tournament Director: Amit Naor Main Draw Players: 1 Puerta, Mariano ARG 9 2 Johansson, Thomas SWE 13 3 Stepanek, Radek CZE 16 4 Novak, Jiri CZE 23 5 Kiefer, Nicolas GER 38 6 Carlsen, Kenneth DEN 54 7 Lee, Hyung-Taik KOR 64 8 Goldstein, Paul USA 67 9 Saulnier, Cyril FRA 69 10 Kohlschreiber, Philipp GER 79 11 Monaco, Juan ARG 82 12 Hernych, Jan CZE 86 13 Popp, Alexander GER 91 14 Burgsmuller, Lars GER 94 15 Wessels, Peter NED 95 16 Vanek, Jiri CZE 96 17 Arthurs, Wayne AUS 98 18 Schuettler, Rainer GER 101 19 Phau, Bjorn GER 107 20 Bjorkman, Jonas SWE 108 21 Moodie, Wesley RSA 112 22 Waske, Alexander GER 114 23 Tipsarevic, Janko SCG 119 24 Dupuis, Antony FRA 122 25 Falla, Alejandro COL 124 26 (WC) 27 (WC) 28 (WC) 29 (Q) 30 (Q) 31 (Q) 32 (Q) Alternates: 1. Ulihrach, Bohdan CZE 127 2. Lisnard, Jean-Rene FRA 128 3. Reynolds, Bobby USA 129 4. Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 133 5. Sluiter, Raemon NED 134 6. Greul, Simon GER 135 7. Mertinak, Michal SVK 137 8. Karanusic, Roko CRO 139 9. Gambill, Jan-Michael USA 142 10. Lapentti, Giovanni ECU 143 11. Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP 145 12. Labadze, Irakli GEO 146 13. Benneteau, Julien FRA 147 14. Daniel, Marcos BRA 150 15. Brzezicki, Juan Pablo ARG 152