[smucav]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070315/..._thailand_dc_1

Nadal and Roddick to play in Thailand Open

BANGKOK (Reuters) - World numbers two and three Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick have confirmed they will play at this year's $550,000 Thailand Open, organizers said on Thursday.

Roddick, a former U.S. Open champion, will return to Bangkok after losing to Roger Federer in the 2004 final, while twice French Open winner Nadal will make his debut in the hard court event.

American James Blake has yet to confirm whether he will defend his title in Thailand and twice winner Federer has decided not to compete in the September 24-30 event.

[Morgan Z]

Andy Murray.
Marcos Baghdatis.


http://www.bangkokpost.com/Sports/16Mar2007_sport25.php

[Nedved Rosicky]

http://www.thailandopen.org/
anyone knows the first player from right side on the upper of the homepage??

[viczbaia]

I think that is Tommy Haas and also the other players I've heard that have committed to the tournament are Novak Djokovic and Benjamin Becker.

[toproddick]

Nadal
Roddick
Djokovic
Gasquet
A Murray
Baghdatis
Hass
Srichaphan etc.,

[krystlel]

Quality field.

[jirobkk]

Djokovic and Nadal for Open

[TENNIS] Serbian sensation Novak Djokovic will make a return to Bangkok to join a stellar field in the Thailand Open which also includes world No 2 Rafael Nadal and big gun Andy Roddick.


Published on July 12, 2007




The new heartthrob on the ATP circuit first landed in Bangkok three years ago as an unfamiliar face but will come back as a celebrity in September after rising to a career-peak No 3 this week following his back-to-back semi-final appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

The lean Belgrade resident was just a new kid on the block with a ranking of only 248 when he competed at the Impact Arena in 2004 and bowed out in round one to Dutchman Dennis van Scheppingen in three sets. He partnered Danai Udomchoke in the doubles and managed to reach the quarter-finals.

Obviously one of the hottest players of 2007, the 20-year-old has accumulated three trophies this season and is touted as one of the strongest contenders to snatch the Thailand Open title.

Three-times French Open champion Nadal will make his debut in the Kingdom's most prestigious event and will surely be the tournament's top attraction.

His heavy top spins and turbo speed on court are always a spectacle for fans to savour. Even world number one Roger Federer has been tested to the limit whenever he has met the Spanish King of Clay.

It's widely known that Roddick is the fastest server ever to walk on the planet. Even a blink can deprive spectators of a glimpse of a Roddick rocket travelling as fast as 155mph.

His only participation in the tournament was in 2004 when he haplessly went down to Federer in two one-sided sets due to an injury.

Also committed to taking part this year are German stars Tommy Haas and Benjamin Becker, known as the last man to beat living legend Andre Agassi in his swansong at the US Open last year.
The Thailand Open is being held from September 22- 30 at Muang Thong Thani. Fans can get tickets at Thaiticketmajor outlets from July 21 or call 02-262-3456 or via www.thailandopen.org or www.thaiticketmajor.com.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam
The Nation

[Via]

what a field! a Thai holiday in september now sounds good

jiro, the tournament is indoors, right? so it's air-conditioned and nice and cool?

do you still get to see practices somewhere?

[~EMiLiTA~]

Originally Posted by Via

what a field! a Thai holiday in september now sounds good

jiro, the tournament is indoors, right? so it's air-conditioned and nice and cool?

do you still get to see practices somewhere?

hey Via, I've also been to this tournament twice before. Yes, it is indoors and VERY MUCH air conditioned (to the point of sometimes being quite cold, especially on court 1!). The bad thing is you can't see the practices, or at least you couldn't when I was there in 2003 and 2004..

I might be going again this year too..

[viczbaia]

I'm going be working again at this tournament this year (been working here since 2005) and unfortunately the practices are still of limits to fans sadly. Also, I think that Nieminen will also be playing here again this year since he always enters here every year except for 2004 when he was injured.

[Via]

hmm indoor courts and no practice viewing doesn't make this the most appealing tournament for me, but considering that a tennis holiday in bangkok would probably be the most affordable outside of australia, and thailand is always a great place to visit, i might still give it a (good) thought!

i'll sit on it until perhaps i'll get a look at the tickets next week

thanks for the info

[Puschkin]

Originally Posted by toproddick

Nadal
Roddick
Djokovic
Gasquet
A Murray
Baghdatis
Hass
Srichaphan etc.,

What is the source for Gasquet?

[jirobkk]

Originally Posted by ~EMiLiTA~

hey Via, I've also been to this tournament twice before. Yes, it is indoors and VERY MUCH air conditioned (to the point of sometimes being quite cold, especially on court 1!). The bad thing is you can't see the practices, or at least you couldn't when I was there in 2003 and 2004..

I might be going again this year too..

I agree. One of the most interesting thing for the fans is to watch players practicing.

[Via]

every time i look at getting tickets and seats at an overseas tournament, i cannot help but appreciate what luck we have in australia...

this is what i've found on the ticket website http://www.thaiticketmaster.com/sport/atp2007_eng.php

(main draw seating plan)


more than aud200 for some seats on the corners... and the rest of the cheaper seats on 2nd floor ... i guess there are a lot of VIPs taking up the rest

and no, gasquet is not on the players list on the official website. nor are murray and baghdatis, but maybe they are still ironing out some details

[viczbaia]

the seats in the corners are VIP seats which include a meal at the VIP lounge, VIP parking and so on and most of the time it's not really the VIPS taking up the rest of the seats but most of the seats are taken by the sponsors which hand them out and eventually end up in the hands of the tennis fans.with regards to gasquet,murray,and baghdatis,the company that organizes the tournament (BEC TERO) are currently in talks with the player's representatives but hopefully everything should be alright^^