Tournament Preview: Rotterdam 20 - 26 February 2006 ABN AMRO WORLD TENNIS TOURNAMENT 2006 Europe's first Gold Series event is traditionally held at the Ahoy stadium in Rotterdam and run by former Wimbledon champion, Richard Krajicek. The tournament is well known for its strong fields and 2006 looks to continue this trend. Heading the list is Spanish world number 2, Rafael Nadal, who made his comeback in Marseille last week following a 4 month injury layoff. 2005 was the youngster's best year ever and saw his ranking skyrocket to world number 2 after winning an amazing 11 titles, including the French Open and 4 Masters Series events. He has decided to stay in Europe this year in the lead-up to the US hardcourt masters, and Dutch fans will be lucky enough to get some of the first glimpses for 2006 of the Spanish star in action. He will be joined by the tour's ironmen, Russian, Nikolay Davydenko and Croatian, Ivan Ljubicic. Both players experienced their best seasons yet in 2005, breaking the top 10 for the first time and making it to the year-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai. They have both continued this great form in 2006, both reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Ljubicic has also already won 2 tournaments in Chennai and Zagreb. They will be looking to consolidate this great form in Rotterdam. Along with Nadal, another top player hoping to make his comeback following injury was Russian star, Marat Safin. Sidelined since August 2005 with a knee injury, which also saw him unable to defend his Australian Open title in January, Safin had wanted to make his return to the circuit in Rotterdam, however he did not feel ready and has unfortunately had to withdraw. Other players to watch at this tournament include 2002 Australian Open champion, Thomas Johansson of Sweden; world number 10, David Ferrer of Spain who achieved a career high ranking in 2005; Czechs Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych, the latter of whom won the Paris Masters in November at just 20 years of age and Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who won the hearts of many fans with his wonderful personality and amazingly reached the final of this year's Australian Open. Dutch fans will also be able to see their own countrymen in action with all three wildcards being awarded to Dutch players: Ramon Sluiter, Sjeng Schalken and Antal van der Duim. The last of these was originally meant for Peter Wessels, who is unable to participate due to injury. Another big drawcard for the tournament was world number 1, Roger Federer, who habitually plays in Rotterdam, however he has also withdrawn, citing fitness reasons in the lead-up to the US Masters tournaments. The qualifying event will run on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February at 10am. It will be played in Hall 1 at cost 8 euros. Main draw action kicks off on Monday 20 February and throughout the week there will be theme days, such as Ladies Day, Kids Day and Family Day. Monday-Friday, play will commence at 11am, with the night session starting at 7.30pm. Saturday's day session starts at 2pm and finals Sunday at 1.30pm. The main draw will be made on Saturday 18 February at 7pm at the Unilever Building. Tickets cost around 20 euros, however more information can be found by visiting the official site. They may be purchased online from Ticketservice or at the box office at Ahoy'. The Ahoy' Rotterdam can be reached easily by public transport. There is a metro stop (Zuidplein station) directly outside. If driving to the venue, the Ahoy' exit is marked on the A15 motorway. The tournament is run by both the Ahoy' stadium and ABN AMRO who are the title sponsor for the event and who put up a lot of money each year to make the tournament possible. If you're a tourist in Rotterdam and plan to do some sightseeing as wella s catching some tennis, the official Rotterdam tourism site (http://www.vvv.rotterdam.nl/uk/) will have everything you need to know! Tournament Fast Facts: Venue: Ahoy', Rotterdam, Netherlands Dates: 18 - 26 February 2006 Singles Qualifying draw: 16 Main Draw Singles: 32 Main Draw Doubles: 16 Surface: Indoor hard Prize money: €800,000 Tournament Director: Richard Krajicek Main Draw Entry List: Nadal, Rafael ESP Davydenko, Nikolay RUS Ljubicic, Ivan CRO Johansson, Thomas SWE Ferrer, David ESP Stepanek, Radek CZE Ancic, Mario CRO Berdych, Tomas CZE Andreev, Igor RUS Rochus, Olivier BEL Grosjean, Sebastien FRA Nieminen, Jarkko FIN Dent, Taylor USA Lopez, Feliciano ESP Henman, Tim GBR Rusedski, Greg GBR Rochus, Christophe BEL Mathieu, Paul-Henri FRA Srichaphan, Paradorn THA Baghdatis, Marcos CYP Melzer, Jurgen AUT Vik, Robin CZE Moodie, Wesley RSA Seppi, Andreas ITA (WC) Sluiter, Ramon NED (WC) Schalken, Sjeng NED (WC) van der Duim, Antal NED Alternates: Santoro, Fabrice FRA Minar, Ivo CZE Hernych, Jan CZE Djokovic, Novak SCG Bracciali, Daniele ITA Vliegen, Kristof BEL Schuettler, Rainer GER Saulnier, Cyril FRA Phau, Bjorn GER Ascione, Thierry FRA Qualifying: Bracciali, Daniele ITA Djokovic, Novak SCG Hernych, Jan CZE Wang, Yeu-Tzuoo TPE Simon, Gilles FRA Tipsarevic, Janko SCG Lisnard, Jean-Rene MON Van Gemerden, Melle NED Bastl, George SUI Kubot, Lukasz POL Costa, Albert ESP Cipolla, Flavio ITA Galimberti, Giorgio ITA Qualifying Alternates: Korolev, Evgeny RUS Elseneer, Gilles BEL Mertl, Jan CZE Calatrava, Alex ESP Summerer, Tobias GER Lammer, Michael SUI Snobel, Pavel CZE Parmar, Arvind GBR Chadaj, Adam POL Wauters, Stefan BEL Vico, Uros ITA Guez, David FRA Masson, Jeroen BEL Eitzinger, Rainer AUT Meffert, Dominik GER