Sunrise, FL -The
official player acceptance list is out for the BMW Tennis Championship
with
a ranking cutoff of 80. “This draw is incredible and stronger
than many ATP tour events this year,” notes Tournament Director
Gabe Norona. “Every year we’re getting more and more
top players, who are using it as the unofficial warm-up event for
the Nasdaq-100.” The Nasdaq-100 Open, a Masters Series event
in Key Biscayne, is the most important tournament outside the slams
– and immediately follows the BMW Tennis Championship.
Top ranked on the list is #19 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. In last
year’s tournament, Hrbaty was taken out in the second round
by finalist #42 Davide Sanguinetti of Italy – who
is also signed up to play at this year’s event. Hrbaty, holder
of six career ATP singles titles, was a
semifinalist at Adelaide, Australia this year; and reached the round
of 16 at the Australian Open. Last year, Hrbaty led his country
to its first Davis Cup final with a 6-1 singles record. He has played
in 36 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments since his appearance at
the 1997 Australian, the longest active streak on the ATP circuit
going into 2006.
Also in the main draw is 18-year-old Scottish sensation #47 Andy
Murray, who stunned top seed Andy Roddick last
month in the SAP Open semi-finals in San Jose – and followed
that by upsetting Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Murray climbed 449
ranking spots in a single year, 2004-05 – becoming the second-youngest
player to reach the year-end Top 100. Murray also made headlines
by getting to the third round at last year’s Wimbledon. #35
Jose Acasuso of Argentina advanced to a Grand Slam-best 4th round
at Roland Garros in 2005, and this year won the Vina Del Mar in
Chile. At last year’s BMW Championship – Acasuso reached
the semi-final doubles with partner #67 Luis Horna – who
is also entered this year. Veteran Frenchman #36 Fabrice Santoro
broke through to his first slam quarter-final at the Australian
Open in ’06 and finished in the top 100 for the 11th time
in 13 years. Frenchman #48 Arnaud Clement won Marseille last week,
defeating Santoro and #2 Rafael Nadal, followed by a win over red-hot
Croatian Mario Ancic in the final.
Other players entered this year are #39 Victor Hanescu of Romania;
and #50 Dmitry Tursunov of Russia. Rounding out the main draw are
#53 Andreas Seppi; #60 Florian Mayer; #61 Ivo Karlovic; #62 Tomas
Zib; #68 Alberto Martin; #69 Weslie Moodie; #71 Vincent Spadea;
#72 Novak Djokovic; #73 Paul Goldstein; #74 Robin Vik; #75 Lukas
Dlouhy; #76 Daniele Bracciali; #78 Carlos Berlocq; #79 Bjorn Phau;
and #80 Andrei Pavel.
The alternates list is peppered with top names, including perennial
favorite Mark Philippoussis, Rainer Schuettler, Nicolas Lapentti,
Gilles Simon, Jan Hernych, Robin Soderling,
Justin Gimelstob, Bobby Reynolds, Kenneth Carlsen, Ramon Delgado,
Stefan Koubek, Younes El Aynaoui; Joachim Johansson, and Jan-Michael
Gambill.
Four wild cards are still available – which could be awarded
to players eliminated in the first 4 days of the Pacific Life Open
in Indian Wells, California – a Masters tournament which begins
4 days earlier than the BMW Tennis Championship. Australian Mark
Philippoussis, with 10 career titles – and who reached the
doubles final in last year’s tournament – is a strong
favorite for one of those spots.
For tournament news and ticket information, go to www.sunrisetennis.com.
Tickets can be bought online, or by calling the toll free number
(877) 877-7677. |