Tournament Preview: Memphis 18 - 26 February 2006

REGIONS MORGAN KEEGAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2006

While Rotterdam's gold series event gets underway in Europe this week, the US's gold series tournament kicks off in Memphis, 
along with the women's Cellular South Cup. This year's field is headed by world number 3, Andy Roddick. After an average 
start to the season, which included taking on his brother as his new coach after the Australian Open, Roddick will be 
looking to put in a good performance in Memphis in the lead-up to the Indian Wells and Miami Masters events. World number 
17, Robby Ginepri, surged up the rankings in 2005, most notably with his semifinals appearance at the US Open. He will be a 
dangerous player at this year's tournament. Spaniard, Tommy Robredo will be making his debut in Memphis, deciding to play 
the US hardcourt circuit instead of the usual European indoor swing. Unlike some of his countrymen, Robredo is quite at 
home on hardcourts and will be looking to secure his 3rd career title since triumping in Sopot 2001 and Barcelona 2004. 
James Blake will be another crowd favourite. After overcoming personal and physical difficulties in 2004, Blake was able to 
bring his ranking back up into the top 30 in 2005 and hopes to continue this form in 2006. 

Other players to watch are Nicolas Kiefer, who recently made the semifinals of the Australian Open; Xavier Malisse, the 
streaky Belgian who tends to play well on US hardcourts and who is coming off a finals appearance in Delray Beach. The man 
who beat him there, Tommy Haas, will also be in action in Memphis. He is the only man to have beaten Roger Federer this 
year (at Kooyong) and is always a tough opponent on this surface. Rising British star, Andy Murray, is another acceptance 
of note, as is Swede, Joachim Johansson, making his comeback after almost a year off the circuit through injury. Last 
year's winner, Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark will also be back to defend his title, as will the man he beat in the final, Max 
Mirnyi of Belarus. 

Men's qualifying will run on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February, with the main draw starting on Monday 20 February. Day 
sessions Monday-Friday commence at 10am and evening sessions at 6.30pm. Saturday's action gets underway at 11am and finals 
Sunday at 1pm. The main draw will be made onsite on Friday 17 February. An average ticket will cost around $20 USD, however 
more detailed information on session prices and packages can be found at the official site. They are only available through 
the tournament office, located in the stadium lobby. They may be ordered by calling 901-685-ACES or 901-765-4401. Proceeds 
go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The tournament venue is The Racquet Club of Memphis, located at 5111 Sanderlin 
Avenue, and the official hotel is the Doubletree Hotel Memphis. As parking is at a premium during the tournament, there 
will be a shuttle bus available. For details on the route and other driving directions, visit the official site. Memphis, 
on the banks of the Mississippi River, is the home of Elvis Presley and the Blues. For more information on things to do and 
see in this interesting city, visit the Memphis Travel Guide (http://www.memphistravel.com/).


Tournament Fast Facts:

Venue: The Racquet Club of Memphis, Memphis, USA
Dates: 18 - 26 February 2006
Singles Qualifying draw: 16 
Main Draw Singles: 32
Main Draw Doubles: 16 
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: US$665 000
Tournament Director: Phil Chamberlain


Main Draw Entry List:

Roddick, Andy USA 
Ginepri, Robby USA 
Robredo, Tommy ESP  
Blake, James USA  
Kiefer, Nicolas GER  
Mirnyi, Max BLR  
Malisse, Xavier BEL  
Haas, Tommy GER  
Sanguinetti, Davide ITA  
Tursunov, Dmitry RUS  
Carlsen, Kenneth DEN  
Murray, Andy GBR  
Bjorkman, Jonas SWE  
Goldstein, Paul USA  
 Karlovic, Ivo CRO 
Clement, Arnaud FRA 
Zib, Tomas CZE  
Spadea, Vincent USA 
Johansson, Joachim SWE 
Soderling, Robin SWE 
Pavel, Andrei ROM 
Vliegen, Kristof BEL
Schüttler, Rainer GER
Saulnier, Cyril FRA 
Phau, Bjorn GER 
(WC) Fish, Mardy USA
(WC) Jenkins, Scoville USA
(WC) Philippoussis, Mark AUS


Alternates:

Reynolds, Bobby USA 
Arthurs, Wayne AUS  
Wang, Yeu-Tzuoo TPE 
Kim, Kevin USA 
Sabau, Razvan ROM 
Lisnard, Jean-Rene MON  
Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP 
Gimelstob, Justin USA  
Mazarakis, Vasilis GRE 
Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP 


Qualifying:

Arthurs, Wayne AUS  
Gimelstob, Justin USA  
Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP  
Reynolds, Bobby USA 
Luczak, Peter AUS 
Benneteau, Julien FRA 
Delgado, Ramon PAR 
Capdeville, Paul CHI 
Greul, Simon GER 
De Voest, Rik RSA 
Morrison, Jeff USA 
Vahaly, Brian USA 
Pless, Kristian DEN  
14 (WC) 
15 (WC) 
16 (WC) 


Qualifying Alternates: 

Delic, Amer USA  
Bogomolov Jr., Alex USA 
Niemeyer, Frederic CAN 
Armando, Hugo USA 
Koubek, Stefan AUT 
Fruttero, John Paul USA 
Weiner, Glenn USA 
Gambill, Jan-Michael USA 
Okun, Noam ISR 
Ram, Rajeev USA 
Salzenstein, Jeff USA  
Sa, Andre BRA 
Levy, Harel ISR 
Fleishman, Zack USA  
Chadaj, Adam POL 
Russell, Michael USA 
Ungur, Adrian ROM 
Mankad, Harsh IND  
Vemic, Dusan SCG  
Lorenzi, Paolo ITA 
Rojer, Jean-Julien AHO