Valencia Preview - Top Seed Murray Makes Debut, Six Former Champions In Field

This year’s Valencia Open 500 will be played for the first time at new facilities of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, one of the most unique places in Valencia. The latest addition to the venue, the Ágora building, will host the Centre Court for the tournament. Valencia is one of 11 ATP World Tour 500 level tournaments. There are six former champions in the field (see below), including five Spaniards. The tournament was played on clay prior to this year. The defending champion is hometown hero David Ferrer, who defeated countryman and 2006-07 winner Nicolas Almagro in last year’s final. The top seed is World No. 4 Andy Murray, who is a five-time title winner on the ATP World Tour this season. The other seeds are: No. 2 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 4 Fernando Verdasco, No. 5 Gilles Simon, No. 6 Gael Monfils, No. 7 Tommy Robredo and No. 8 Ferrer. There are two positions remaining for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, which begins on Nov. 22, and Davydenko, Verdasco and Tsonga are among the leading contenders.
There are four singles matches on Stadium Monday, including Davydenko in the final match.

TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS
CITY:   Valencia, Spain
VENUE:  Agora Building, Valencia City of Arts & Science
DATE:   November 2-8, 2009
CATEGORY:  ATP World Tour 500
PRIZE MONEY:  € 2,019,000
DRAW:   32 singles / 16 doubles
SURFACE:  Hard
SINGLES FINAL:  Sunday, November 8, 4:00 p.m.
DOUBLES FINAL: Sunday, November 8, before singles final (TBA)
FIRST HELD:  2003 (in Valencia) from 1998-2002 (in Mallorca)

2008 FINALS
Singles – (1) David Ferrer (ESP) d. (5) Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Doubles – M. Gonzalez-Monaco d. Parrott-Polasek 7-5, 7-5

RECENT CHAMPIONS/FINALISTS (since 2000, held on clay prior to 2009, in Mallorca from 1998-2002)
2008 David Ferrer/Nicolas Almagro
2007 Nicolas Almagro/Potito Starace 
2006 Nicolas Almagro/Gilles Simon 
2005 Igor Andreev/David Ferrer 
2004 Fernando Verdasco/Albert Montanes 
2003 Juan Carlos Ferrero/Christophe Rochus 
2002 Gaston Gaudio/Jarkko Nieminen 
2001 Alberto Martin/Guillermo Coria 
2000 Marat Safin/Mikael Tillstrom

* Bold denotes past champion/finalist in 2009 draw

A LOOK AT THE DRAW
Seeded Players (Tournament record, best finish – year)  
1 Andy Murray (GBR)   Debut 
2 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)  0-3 R32-'06,05,02
3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)  Debut  
4 Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  12-5 W-'04
5 Gilles Simon (FRA)   5-2 F-'06
6 Gael Monfils (FRA)   1-1 R16-'08
7 Tommy Robredo (ESP)  4-3 SF-'08
8 David Ferrer (ESP)   11-4 W-'08

Wildcards: Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Marcel Granollers, Oscar Hernandez
Qualifiers: Roberto Bautista-Agut, Alejandro Falla, Alberto Martin, Christophe Rochus
Youngest: Roberto Bautista-Agut (21 years, 6 months)
Oldest:  Oscar Hernandez (31 years, 6 months)
Top Country Breakdown: Spain (13), France (4), Russia (4), Argentina (3)
Former Champions in Draw (6): David Ferrer (2008), Nicolas Almagro (2006-07), Igor Andreev (2005), Fernando Verdasco (2004), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003), Alberto Martin (2001)
Former Finalists in Draw (5):Nicolas Almagro (2008), Gilles Simon (2006), David Ferrer (2005), Albert Montanes (2004), Christophe Rochus (2003)

Seeded Doubles Teams: (Team Record, best finish – year)
1 Fyrstenberg / Matkowski Debut  
2 Kubot / Marach    Debut
3 Cermak / Mertinak    Debut
4 Damm / Knowle    Debut

RECENT CHAMPIONS (since 2000)
2008 Maximo Gonzalez / Juan Monaco
2007 Wesley Moodie / Todd Perry
2006 David Skoch / Tomas Zib
2005 Fernando Gonzalez / Martin Rodriguez
2004 Gaston Etlis / Martin Rodriguez
2003 Lucas Arnold Ker / Mariano Hood    2002 Mahesh Bhupathi / Leander Paes
2000 Michael Llodra / Diego Nargiso    2001 Donald Johnson / Jared Palmer

ABOUT THE ATP WORLD TOUR
With 62 tournaments in 32 countries, the ATP World Tour showcases the finest male athletes competing in the world’s most exciting venues. From Australia to Europe and the Americas to Asia, the stars of the ATP World Tour battle for prestigious titles at Grand Slams (non ATP members), ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour 250 events. At the end of the season the world’s top 8 ranked men’ssingles players and top 8 doubles teams, based on their performance throughout the year, will qualify to compete in the season’s climax - the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. To be held at London’s O2 arena, the event will officially crown the 2009 ATP World Tour Champion and determine the final South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings. For more information, please visit www.ATPWorldTour.com.

MONDAY FIRST ROUND  HEAD-TO-HEADS – In Order of Play

Stadium

Albert Montanes (ESP) vs (Q) Roberto Bautista-Agut (ESP)  First Meeting

Montanes FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Estoril (d Blake); Bucharest (d Monaco); SF: Casablanca (l Serra)
YTD W-L: 22-19
YTD Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: November 26, 1980
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 34

• Montanes, 28, is making his seventh tournament appearance (5-6 record)…His best result came in 2004 when he reached the final (l. to Verdasco)
• The Barcelona resident comes in with a 22-19 match record on the season (3-8 on hard, 17-10 on clay) and ranked No. 34…He reached a career-high No. 28 on May 11…He is on pace to finish in the Top 50 for the third straight year after No. 46 rankings the past two years
• He has won two ATP World Tour titles this year, Bucharest in September (d. Monaco) and Estoril in May, saving two match points in the final against James Blake...The previous month, he was a semi-finalist in Casablanca (l. to Serra)
• He is 3-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour finals, all on clay...Last year he won his first ATP World Tour title in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, defeating Belgian Steve Darcis
• After reaching the third round at Wimbledon, he advanced to the final at the Scheveningen Challenger, then was sidelined for nearly two months with a left knee injury…Returned at the US Open

Bautista-Agut FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 0-0
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 14, 1988
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 315

• Bautista-Agut, 21, who is the youngest and lowest-ranked player (No. 315) in the main draw, qualified into his first career ATP World Tour tournament by defeating Belgian Steve Darcis and American Robert Kendrick over the weekend in straight sets
• He has played in 19 Futures events and five Challengers this season...He won the title at Spain Futures #10 in March and Spain #32 in September while reaching finals at Spain Futures #9, Spain #19 and Spain #33
• Made his pro debut in 2004 and played in three Futures events that year…Has played almost entirely in Futures tournaments in his career

Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) Berdych Leads 1-0
09 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 6-4

Berdych FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Munich (d Youzhny); QF: Washington (l Isner); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Nadal); Kuala Lumpur (l Soderling); Tokyo (l Youzhny)
YTD W-L: 34-23
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: September 17, 1985
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 19

• Berdych, 24, is making his first appearance in Valencia
• The No. 2 player from the Czech Republic (behind No. 14 Stepanek) enters with a 34-23 match record on the season (20-15 on hard)
• He has reached five ATP World Tour quarter-finals (or better) this season…In May, he captured his fifth career ATP World Tour title in Munich on clay (d. Youzhny)
• In September he helped his native country to its first Davis Cup final (vs. Spain) in 29 years by defeating Croatia in the semi-finals…He won the second rubber over Marin Cilic in five sets

Mathieu FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
F: Hamburg (l Davydenko); SF: Brisbane (l Verdasco); Metz (l Kohlschreiber); QF: Munich (l Youzhny)
YTD W-L: 28-27
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: January 12, 1982
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 32

• Mathieu, 27, is also appearing in Valencia for the first time
• The Frenchman enters with a 28-27 match record on the season, including 16-15 on hard courts
• In July, he reached the final in Hamburg (l. to Davydenko)…He was the first Frenchman to reach the Hamburg final since Gasquet (l. to Federer) in 2005
• In the opening week of the season in Brisbane he advanced to the semi-finals (l. to Verdasco)…He also was a semi-finalist in Metz in late September (l. to Kohlschreiber)
• In 2008, finished in the Top 35 for the second straight year at No. 32 and reached a career-high No. 12 on April 7, 2008

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Simon Greul (GER)      Garcia-Lopez Leads 1-0
09 Stockholm (Sweden) Hard R16 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 7-5

Garcia-Lopez FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Kitzbühel (d Benneteau); SF: Eastbourne (l Tursunov); QF: Johannesburg (l Gil); Delray Beach (l Korolev); Houston (l Hewitt); Stockholm (l Soderling)
YTD W-L: 26-26
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: June 4, 1983
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 47

• Garcia-Lopez, 26, has a 4-6 career mark in Valencia and his best result was the quarter-finals in 2006
• The Spaniard is compiling the best season of his career on the ATP World Tour with six ATP World Tour quarter-final or better results, including a QF in Stockholm 10 days ago
• He enters with a 26-26 match record on the season, including 10-15 on hard courts
• He captured his first ATP World Tour title in May in Kitzbuehel, beating Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the final…He was playing in his 109th career ATP level tournament
• In June, he advanced to the semifinals on grass in Eastbourne (l. to eventual champ Tursunov)…He previously was a quarter-finalist in Johannesburg (l. to Gil) and Delray Beach (l. to Korolev) in February and Houston (l. to Hewitt) in April
• He reached a career-high No. 42 on June 22 and enters No. 47 this week

Greul FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
SF: Bucharest (l Monaco); QF: Hamburg (l Ferrer)
YTD W-L: 15-14
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 13, 1981
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 56

• Greul, 28, made his debut in Valencia two years ago and lost in the first round
• The German advanced to his first career ATP World Tour semi-final in Bucharest in September, losing to Argentine Juan Monaco...His previous best result was the quarter-finals in Hamburg in July (l. Ferrer)
• The Stuttgart native is compiling the best results of his career with a 15-14 match record, including 6-8 on hard courts…He is ranked a career-high No. 56 this week
• In Challenger level play, he's put together a 23-10 match record with his best showings in Italy where he won the title in Todi, reached final in Rome and advanced to three semi-finals (Turin, Trani, Genova)

(Q) Alejandro Falla (COL) vs (2) Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) Falla Leads 1-0
06 Wimbledon (England) Grass R128 Alejandro Falla 2-6 7-6(4)   7-6(8)   6-3

Falla FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 3-7
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 14, 1983
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 98

• Falla, 25, qualified into his seventh ATP World Tour level tournament of the season by winning two matches over the weekend…Two years ago in Valencia he defeated Andreas Seppi before losing in the second round to Santiago Ventura in three sets
• Last week in Vienna he qualified and lost in the first round to top seed Marin Cilic
• After slipping to No. 182 at the end of last year, the Bogota resident has climbed back into the Top 100 with a successful run on the Challenger circuit by compiling a 25-11 match record with three titles
• In May, he captured the title in his native country in Pereira (d. Zeballos) and last month he won another title on home soil in Cali (d. Zeballos again), both on clay...In his last appearance at the Rennes Challenger nine days ago, he won the title (d. Ascione)...Afterwards, he jumped back into the Top 100 from No. 127 to No. 96 on Oct. 19 for the first time since Apr. 14, 2008
• The top Colombian on the ATP World Tour  is coached by Spaniards Jacobo Diaz and Marcos Gorriz

Davydenko FastFacts:
2009 Highlights:
W: Hamburg (d Mathieu); Umag (d Ferrero); Kuala Lumpur (d Verdasco); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai (d Nadal); SF: Barcelona (l Nadal); Estoril (l Blake); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Murray); Roland Garros (l Soderling); Stuttgart (l Fognini); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada (l Murray); New Haven (l Querrey); Beijing (l Cilic)
YTD W-L: 49-14
YTD Titles: 4
Career Titles: 18
Date of Birth: June 2, 1981
South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking: 7

• Davydenko, 28, is trying to win his first match in Valencia after first round exits in 2002, ’05 and ‘06
• He enters with a 49-14 match record on the season and trying to win at least 50 matches for the fifth straight year…Has played well on both clay (26-6) and hard courts (21-7) this season; 2-1 on grass
• He has captured four ATP World Tour titles this year, including last month at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, defeating No. 4 Djokovic in the semi-finals and No. 2 Nadal in the final…He also improved his career record to 18-5 in finals with his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title (’06 Paris, ’08 Miami)
• He is trying to secure one of two remaining positions in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next month
• His other three ATP World Tour titles came in the summer on clay in Hamburg (d. Mathieu) and Umag (d. Ferrero), and his first title in Asia on hard courts in Kuala Lumpur (d. Verdasco) on Oct. 4
• Other quality finishes are two SF, at Barcelona (l. to Nadal) and Estoril (l. to Blake) and six QF, at Monte Carlo (l. to Murray), Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), Stuttgart (l. to Fognini), Montreal (l. to Murray), New Haven (l. to Querrey) and earlier this month in Beijing (l. to Cilic)
• Had two lengthy heel injury lay-offs, one at beginning of season (withdrew from 2nd Rd. match in Chennai, his first event of the season, then didn’t play for one month) and one in spring (missed two months before returning at Monte Carlo)
• Turned in QF at Roland Garros (l. to Soderling), his fourth QF showing or better in five years
• On April 27, fell out of Top 10 for first time since May 23, 2005 and was out of Top 10 for three months before returning on July 27 (has been there ever since)
• Reached career-high No. 3 ranking on South African Airways ATP Rankings on June 11, 2006
 
OTHER FIRST ROUND MATCHES – To be played Tuesday or Wednesday

Andy Murray (GBR) vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)  First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings
05 Spain F6 (Vic) Clay QF Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-4 6-3

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs Igor Andreev (RUS)   Andreev Leads 1-0
09 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard QF Igor Andreev 6-4 6-7(4)   6-3

Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs David Ferrer (ESP)   Ferrer Leads 4-0
06 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati  Hard R32 David Ferrer 4-6 7-6(1)  6-0
06 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 David Ferrer 7-6(1) 7-6(6) 6-1
07 Bastad (Sweden) Clay F David Ferrer 6-1 6-2
08 Valencia (Spain) Clay F David Ferrer 4-6 6-2  7-6(2)

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs Oscar Hernandez (ESP)  First ATP Meeting
Other Meetings:
02 Maia CH (Portugal) Clay QF Oscar Hernandez 6-4 4-6 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs Victor Hanescu (ROU)  Hanescu Leads 2-0
07 Umag (Croatia) Clay R32 Victor Hanescu 2-0 ret
09 New Haven (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Victor Hanescu 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3

Alberto Martin (ESP) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)   Martin Leads 2-1
04 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Alberto Martin        3-6 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 6-2
07 Valencia (Spain) Clay R32 Alberto Martin 6-2 3-6 6-2
08 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 Feliciano Lopez 3-6 6-2 6-4

Christophe Rochus (BEL) vs Tommy Robredo (ESP)  Robredo Leads 1-0
01 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay R32 Tommy Robredo 6-4 6-3
Other Meetings:
00 Charleroi CH (Belgium) Carpet R32 Christophe Rochus 7-5 6-3

Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)   Simon Leads 1-0
06 Nottingham (England) Grass R32 Gilles Simon 6-4 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs Pablo Cuevas (URU)   First Meeting

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)  Tsonga Leads 2-0
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 6-0 7-6(6)
09 Tokyo (Japan) Hard F Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-3

Gael Monfils (FRA) vs Marcel Granollers (ESP)    First Meeting

Juan Monaco (ARG) vs Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) Monaco Leads 2-0
08 Vina del Mar (Chile) Clay R16 Juan Monaco 6-3 4-6 7-5
09 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay R16 Juan Monaco 6-4 2-6 6-2
Other Meetings:
03 San Marino CH (San Marino) Clay R32 Juan Monaco 7-6(1) 6-3