Tournament Preview: Metz 1 - 9 October 2005

EUROPEAN INDOORS BEGIN

Metz kicks off the final leg of the 2005 season - the European indoor swing. The Northern French city will play host to the 
3rd Open de Moselle, held between 1 and 9 October, that has once again attracted great lineup of players. Last year's final 
saw local favourite, Jerome Haehnel, make it all the way though from qualifying to defeat wildcard compatriot, Richard 
Gasquet 7-6(9) 6-4. Heading this year's list is Russian world number 7, Nikolay Davydenko, who will also be joined by world 
number 15, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia who recently put his country into the Davis Cup final, as did world number 19, Dominik 
Hrbaty of Slovakia who will also be present at the tournament. American, James Blake and Olympic gold medalist, Nicolas 
Massu, are also players of note to have accepted to play here. However, perhaps the most exciting news for local fans is 
that of the French player acceptances, the standout of whom being current world number 12, 19 year old Richard Gasquet. He 
has come along way since losing last year's final and is in fact one of only 3 players to have defeated Roger Federer this 
year, his victory being at the Monte Carlo Masters in April. He also won his first title in Nottingham and reached the final 
of the Hamburg Masters. He will no doubt bring excitement to the tournament, as will his other compatriots, Gael Monfils, 
Paul-Henri Mathieu and Arnaud Clement, who is on the comeback trail and has been granted a wildcard. Another player to have 
received a wildcard at this tournament in an attempt to resurrect his career is the iconic Australian, Mark Philippoussis. 
All eyes, however, will be on Gasquet as he attempts to go one step further this time in Metz and win his second title of 
the year. He would dearly love to win on home soil but it will not be easy for him, given the strong field and the fact 
that he has been recovering from an elbow injury...all will be revealed in due course.

Qualifying gets under way on Saturday 1 October, starting at 10am and the main draw competition will begin on Monday 3 
October. Day sessions from Monday to Thursday start at 11am, Friday starts at 2pm, Saturday semifinals day starts at 2.30pm 
and finals Sunday starts at 2pm. Between 11am and 5pm on Wednesday, is young people's day and general public can enter 
after 5.30pm. The tournament is held at Arènes de Metz, 5 avenue Louis Le Débonnaire. Maps and access information may be 
found at http://www.opendemoselle.com/index.php?p=acc Online ticket sales are now closed, however tickets may still be 
purchased directly from the Arènes stadium. If you are interested in visiting Metz itself, information on the city can be 
found by visiting http://www.mairie-metz.fr:8080/. The 3rd Open de Moselle promises great tennis and excitement as the 
world's top players hit the indoor courts and battle it out for the Metz title. 

Tournament Fast Facts:
Venue: Arènes, Metz, France
Dates: 1 - 9 October 2005
Singles Qualifying: 32
Main Draw Singles: 32
Main Draw Doubles: 16
Surface: Indoor (Greenset)
Prize Money: €323,250
Tournament Director: Yvon Gerard

Main Draw Players:
1 Davydenko, Nikolay RUS 6 
2 Gasquet, Richard FRA 13 
3 Hrbaty, Dominik SVK 16 
4 Ljubicic, Ivan CRO 19 
5 El Aynaoui, Younes MAR 27 
6 Beck, Karol SVK 36 
7 Pavel, Andrei ROM 39 
8 Melzer, Jurgen AUT 40 
9 Soderling, Robin SWE 41 
10 Monfils, Gael FRA 42 
11 Acasuso, Jose ARG 43 
12 Mathieu, Paul-Henri FRA 44 
13 Hanescu, Victor ROM 47 
14 Chela, Juan Ignacio ARG 50 
15 Mello, Ricardo BRA 56 
16 Andreev, Igor RUS 57 
17 Massu, Nicolas CHI 58 
18 Sanguinetti, Davide ITA 59 
19 Zib, Tomas CZE 60 
20 Wawrinka, Stanislas SUI 62 
21 Mayer, Florian GER 65 
22 Calleri, Agustin ARG 66 
23 Blake, James USA 67 
26 (WC) Clement, Arnaud FRA
27 (WC) Philippoussis, Mark AUS

Alternates 
1. Llodra, Michael FRA 69 
2. Seppi, Andreas ITA 70 
3. Zabaleta, Mariano ARG 72 
4. Serra, Florent FRA 73 
5. Santoro, Fabrice FRA 77 
6. Sabau, Razvan ROM 81 
7. Almagro, Nicolas ESP 84 
8. Bracciali, Daniele ITA 88 
9. Behrend, Tomas GER 89 
10. Djokovic, Novak SCG 93 
11. Karlovic, Ivo CRO 96 
12. Gimelstob, Justin USA 97 
13. Arthurs, Wayne AUS 99 
14. Haehnel, Jerome FRA 100