Tournament Preview: Monte Carlo 15-23 April 2006 MONTE CARLO MASTERS 2006 Monte Carlo, located in the tiny principality of Monaco on the stunning French riviera has long been a playground for Europe's (and indeed the world's) rich and famous. Glitz, glamour, gambling, fast cars are all part of the luxury that is MC. Despite its small size, it plays host to some of the biggest sporting events in Europe, such as the F1 grand prix and, of course, the ATP Tennis Masters Series. While it may still be cool and drizzly, things will definitely be hottening up on the tennis courts between 15 and 23 April. While there is a mysterious absence of many North American players, the participants lists certainly has a strong European-Latin American flavour. It is, of course, headed by world number 1 Roger Federer. While clay is not his favourite surface, he will nevertheless be one of the top men to beat at this year's tournament. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals here, where he lost to Richard Gasquet, in one of his few losses throughout the whole year. This year, he will be looking to better this and further strengthen his domination of the game. One man who could stand in the way of this is last year's winner and reigning French Open champion, Rafael Nadal. Few would disagree that Nadal is currently the best clay court player and stands a great chance of defeating Federer on this surface. In last year's final, he defeated Guillermo Coria in 4 sets and will be hoping to defend his title in 2006. The question remains, however, how he will stand the pressure of his numerous title defences throughout the clay season. Nikolay Davydenko, though well ensconced in the top 10 (currently number 6), often passes under the radar compared to many of his peers. He is, however, a danger on all surfaces and at last year's French Open reached the semifinals for the first time. Here at Monte Carlo, he was yet another victim of Richard Gasquet in the 3rd round. Last year's finalist and 2004 winner, Argentine Guillermo Coria, hasn't had the best of seasons so far, having suffered several injury problems. However, he doesn't have the nickname El Mago (the Magician) for nothing...he is an accomplished clay court player, who will be looking to make his third consecutive final in Monte Carlo. The man who deprived him of winning the 2004 French Open, compatriot Gaston Gaudio, is for many people the second best claycourter at the moment behind Nadal. After a promising showing in Valencia last week, he will be looking for a claycourt Masters title in Monaco. Spaniard, David Ferrer, who unfortunately suffered a back injury last week, will be looking to bounce back strong this week and back up his great 2005 claycourt season where he reached the French Open quarterfinals. Fellow Valencian, Juan Carlos Ferrero is no stranger to the Monte-Carlo Country Club, winning back to back titles in 2002 and 2003. This year he will definitely have some tough competition on his hands, but on clay Ferrero should not be discounted if he's playing well. Further down the list are other dangerous claycourters who all have chances of putting in good performances here. Comeback king Marat Safin, Igor Andreev, Filippo Volandri, Fernando Verdasco, José Acasuso, Florent Serra, Victor Hanescu, Andreas Seppi and Boris Pashanski, to name a few players who could possibly be darkhorses at this year's event. It's not often the Monagesque public have a compatriot to cheer for, however, the former French player, Jean-René Lisnard, now plays under the Monaco flag and will undoubtedly receive a lot of attention from his home crowd. The other 3 wildcards have been awarded to French neighbours Julien Benneteau, Michael Llodra and Gilles Simon, the last of whom put in a very promising performance on clay in Valencia last week. The main draw will be made on Saturday 15 April at noon at the onsite VIP village. Qualifying will also start on this day and continue through to Sunday 16 April. Daily main draw action will be played from 10am Monday to Thursday, 10.30 on Friday, 11.30 on Saturday and the finals on Sunday will commence at 2.30pm and will be the best of 5 sets. Tickets may be purchased online and there are various packages on offer. The tournament takes place at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, which may be reached by car, bus or train. And if your budget will allow you, the official tournament hotel is the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. But even if you can't afford to stay in the lap of luxury, Monte Carlo is definitely a place worth experiencing and what could be better than an ATP Master Series with the Mediterranean Sea as a backdrop?! Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: Monte-Carlo Country Club, Monte-Carlo, Monaco Dates: 15 - 23 April 2006 Singles Qualifying draw: 32 Main Draw Singles: 64 Main Draw Doubles: 32 Surface: Outdoor clay Prize money: € 2 082 500 Tournament Director: Zeljko Franulovic Main Draw Entry List: Federer, Roger SUI Nadal, Rafael ESP Nalbandian, David ARG Ljubicic, Ivan CRO Davydenko, Nikolay RUS Coria, Guillermo ARG Gaudio, Gaston ARG Ferrer, David ESP Kiefer, Nicolas GER Gonzalez, Fernando CHI Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP Stepanek, Radek CZE Robredo, Tommy ESP Hrbaty, Dominik SVK Grosjean, Sebastien FRA Nieminen, Jarkko FIN Berdych, Tomas CZE Andreev, Igor RUS Baghdatis, Marcos CYP Haas, Tommy GER Monfils, Gael FRA Moya, Carlos ESP Chela, Juan Ignacio ARG Rochus, Olivier BEL Volandri, Filippo ITA Verdasco, Fernando ESP Mathieu, Paul-Henri FRA Acasuso, Jose ARG Santoro, Fabrice FRA Serra, Florent FRA Lopez, Feliciano ESP Hanescu, Victor ROM Youzhny, Mikhail RUS Rochus, Christophe BEL Murray, Andy GBR Henman, Tim GBR Rusedski, Greg GBR Massu, Nicolas CHI Horna, Luis PER Malisse, Xavier BEL Tursunov, Dmitry RUS Sanguinetti, Davide ITA Clement, Arnaud FRA Safin, Marat RUS Mirnyi, Max BLR Seppi, Andreas ITA Pashanski, Boris SCG Vliegen, Kristof BEL Wawrinka, Stanislas SUI Karlovic, Ivo CRO Martin, Alberto ESP Srichaphan, Paradorn THA (WC) Lisnard, Jean-René MON (WC) Benneteau, Julien FRA (WC) Simon, Gilles FRA (WC) Llodra, Michael FRA Alternates: Soderling, Robin SWE Mayer, Florian GER Vik, Robin CZE Djokovic, Novak SCG Björkman, Jonas SWE Muller, Gilles LUX Bracciali, Daniele ITA Qualifying: Soderling, Robin SWE Mayer, Florian GER Djokovic, Novak SCG Bracciali, Daniele ITA Bjorkman, Jonas SWE Vik, Robin CZE Phau, Bjorn GER Dlouhy, Lukas CZE Almagro, Nicolas ESP Mahut, Nicolas FRA Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP Hernych, Jan CZE Starace, Potito ITA Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP Di Mauro, Alessio ITA Lapentti, Nicolas ECU Portas, Albert ESP Patience, Olivier FRA Berrer, Michael GER Ascione, Thierry FRA Gicquel, Marc FRA Luczak, Peter AUS Gabashvili, Teimuraz RUS Van Gemerden, Melle NED Gremelmayr, Denis GER Faurel, Jean-Christophe FRA Korolev, Evgeny RUS Luzzi, Federico ITA Qualifying Alternates: Cipolla, Flavio ITA Galimberti, Giorgio ITA Bolelli, Simone ITA Meffert, Dominik GER Becker, Benjamin GER Witten, Jesse USA Russell, Michael USA