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May 2005

The big The big The big shoot-outThe big The big

ARGENTINA VERSUS SPAIN

Gaston Gaudio

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As soon as the world circuit comes back round to the clay courts, the battle at the top narrows down to just two countries, Argentina and Spain, and possibly Roger

Federer and Marat Safi n (on one of his good days). You don’t need a degree in tennis to understand this, just the patience to study the clay court tournament scoreboards. Ro-land Garros 2004 was the last straw: three

semi-fi nalists out of four were Argentinean, as were both of the fi nalists, with (surprisin-gly) Tim Henman the odd man out. There was an unexpected dearth of Spaniards, though to be fair Nadal was out through injury and Moya only lost after an incredible match with Coria. Will it be the same story this year? Will eve-ryone have to bow down before the Argenti-neans? They’re not likely to repeat such ove-rwhelming predominance, partly because

the Spanish have some new arrows in their quiver. Of all talent born in magical 1986 they picked the joker, the baby phenomenon ca-pable of scaring King Federer, even on Ame-rican cement in Miami. Rafael Nadal is the player any nation would want: good looking, fearless and above all extremely strong. In his sleeveless top and Pinocchio shorts, he started the season on clay as an outsider and after the fi rst few tournaments is already being hailed as one of the favourites.

Back on clay again, the battle at the top is immediately Argentina versus Spain, with Roger Federer the only obvious alternative. Last year the South Americans dominated the fi eld. This year revenge is in the air.

Cover story

102 of the top 104 world players have registered for Roland Garros, with German Popp and Russian Tursunov missing the roll call Lleyton Hewitt is helping build an orphanage in Cambodia New sites for a number of ATP players To fi nd out everything about Marat Safi n just click on www.maratsafi n.com, or for Filippo Volandri www.fi lippovolandri.it

Post scriptum

The big challengeGaston Gaudio Carlos Moya

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Cover story

But Spain isn’t just Nadalito. Up to a couple of years ago the king on clay was Juan Car-los Ferrero, a minor champion who spent more time last season with his physiothe-rapist than anyone else. It’s hard to imagine him back at the top but seeing him down below the 50 mark in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Ranking for so long was an insult to his ta-lent. Drawing him in the early rounds in Paris or in the ATP Masters Series tournaments won’t be fun for anyone, yet when you’ve got 16 players in the world’s top 100 it’s easy to come up with someone new every season. 2005 seems to be David Ferrer’s year; a highly physical talent, he plays like he’s swallowed a box of Duracells. Perpe-tual motion in person, he plays back any ball he’s given and can keep running for half the day – vitality in tennis shorts, he gives 100% on every point in every match, in every tour-nament. True he’s not a no. 1, but having a supporting cast of his calibre is a luxury.Fans will wonder if this commentator has memory problems. “Er, hang on, what about Mr. Carlos Moya?”. Potentially, he would seem the perfect clay court ma-chine, with his powerful serve, absolutely lethal forehand, solid backhand and a top of the class touch. But his best days seem behind him, especially as he’s one of tho-se players who can never be satisfi ed with

Wilson Racquet Sports have decided to sponsor the Jensen Brothers Tour, a series of clinics that tour the United States taking the game to young people 1986 promises to become a magical year, with Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet all being born in it Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya skipped the Bahrain Grand Prix due to an injury he got while... playing tennis

SurprisesPeople are expecting Guillermo Coria to manage at last to win at Roland Gar-ros or that Gaston Gaudio will give us an encore. Looking to Spain, the money seems to be on the freshness of Rafael Nadal, the experience of Carlos Moya or the re-birth of Juan Carlos Ferrero. And there’s no lack of outsiders. First of all, the reborn Argentinean Mariano Puerta, who after a long absence made a thundering come-back by winning the Casablanca tournament and reaching the fi nal in Buenos Aires. His backhand is still a joy to see and it’s going to be great ha-ving him back on the major courts. In the Spanish camp, David Ferrer may not be the most talented player in the circuit but even a top player, on an off day, will be risking it against the consistency and so-lidity of this fi nalist at Valencia, who has already shown himself a good all-rounder by reaching the semi-fi nal on cement in the ATP Masters Series in Miami.

winning less than a Roland Garros. If I had to put money on it, I’d say we’re more likely to see Nadal holding up the Three Muske-teers Cup than our bel Carlitos.The Spanish are ready to do battle but the Argentineans are still the real favourites. The Paris 2004 fi nalists - Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria - have been joined by the ever reliable Canas, a Nalbandian who, when not injured, is a pain for anyone and even the “old” Mariano Puerta, a player who used to be as competitive in the restaurant as he was on court. Slimmer now and in fair-ly decent form, he’s technically peerless but is handicapped by being only 175 cm tall.There aren’t many alternatives, to be honest maybe only one, King Federer. Though it’s true the Swiss ace looks mortal again on clay, but could win even in human mode. He’ll be the favourite in any given match but the problem is what might happen if the blin-dfolded goddess turns the other way when the draw is made. Roger can beat Coria and he can also beat Nadal, Moya and any other clay specialist. But what if he gets all of them, one after the other? If you have to go to fi ve sets with Nadal, how do you show up on court the day after against another long distance racquet wielder? The only year that Pete Sampras looked like winning in Paris he had to play 4 long matches in a row. Federer

has more miles in his legs, but will he have them in his head as well? Rome and Paris will pronounce the solemn verdict.

Mariano Puerta

Rankings by nation

Nations Points*

1 Argentina 26

2 Spain 31

3 USA 40

4 Russia 46

5 Sweden 69

6 Czech Rep. 87

7 Croatia 97

8 Germany 100

9 France 127

10 Belgium 135

*Sum of fi rst three players in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Entry Ranking

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Battle cry “C’mmmooooonnnn”. Screa-med after every important pointMission... possible “Of course I’m convinced I’m going to beat Federer. The only problem is that it’s not going to be simple. Everyone knows that Roger’s the man to beat at the moment”.Will to win “To pep myself up I always think of the face my opponent would make if he beat me”.Never surrender “It never even oc-curred to me to withdraw against Nadal in the Melbourne tournament. Even if I’d broken my leg, I would have stayed on court fi ghting”.Ready, steady, go! “We all started out as equals, we new generation players. We were 6 or 7 and after a few hundred matches here we all are again, together, fi ghting for the big titles. It’s pretty surpri-sing if you think about it”.A question of centimetres “Tennis is a game where a mere centimetre can make the difference. I won a match again-st Agassi thanks to a lob that he missed by a hairsbreadth. Obviously a cool head is needed at times; the mental factor is more important than anything else”.Earnings “It’s obviously fantastic to earn loads of money doing what you love, but I’d play even if we didn’t earn so much. I don’t earn much in the Davis Cup but when I plan my year, it’s the fi rst thing I think of”.Best qualities “Mentally I think I’m one of the strongest players on the circuit. And I believe I’m one of the fastest too. You know? Passing shots, lobs, recove-ries.... Well, if I’m at the top of the world rankings, I owe it to these qualities”.Ex-fi ancée “In ending my relationship

Cash was on court, we were all more con-vinced and concentrated. The same thing happens when Lleyton Hewitt’s in the team”. Wally MasurForce of mind “I don’t know any player who wouldn’t be happy to have just a bit of Lleyton Hewitt’s force of mind”. Todd WoodbridgeWinning attitude “He plays every point as if it were the second world war”. Roy EmersonGreat praise “How can you not love Lleyton Hewitt? He’s incredible for all of us who aren’t 1 metre 90 giants, he offers everyone the hope of playing this sport at the highest levels. You can see he adores tennis and that he fi ghts over every ball. God, I adore him”. Billie Jean KingOne of us “He’s a great fi ghter, with a consistent game. Even when he’s in diffi culty, he always tries to be aggressi-ve. He’s ready to start winning the major tournaments again. He’s earned his pla-ce amongst the greats of this sport”. An-dre AgassiGreat refusal “Hewitt? He simply refu-ses to lose”. John Newcombe

with Kim Clijsters I think I behaved in a very mature way and managed the situa-tion perfectly, both on and off court”. “In-laws” and adversaries “He already made a few comments to me in the locker room. He won’t be getting me a Christmas present. He reckons today was mine”. After beating Joachim Johansson in the semi-fi nal of the US Open (Johans-son’s girlfriend is Hewitt’s sister). On transfer “I never think anyone can be stronger than me. I believe in myself and in the past it’s got me out of lots of complicated situations and this has made me a stronger person. Like playing in a Davis match on transfer: in those condi-tions I think I’m very competitive. It’s a quality you’re born with and that you can improve on, step by step. I have the ne-ver-say-die attitude”.New loves “I just thought he was one of the cutest, simplest guys around, easy to talk to and have fun with”. Bec Car-twright, fi ancée and famous TV persona-lity in AustraliaDavis companions “When I played in the Davis Cup and the legendary Pat

Post scriptum

Personality

Lleyton HewittIf all that counted in tennis was fi ghting spirit, mental energy, the capacity to get excited, the 24 year old Australian would be the no. 1, permanently.

Fancy enjoying a spot of tennis whilst fl ying? The video of the Masters Cup 2004, Facing Federer, will be showing on British Airways, Sas, Cathay Pacifi c and Qatar Airways fl ights. 11th April saw the start of the ATP Fantasy Tennis 2005 game. To sign on, visit www.atptennis.com Ongoing success for the line of clothing produced by Willy Canas and bearing his initials

Lleyton Hewitt

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The eight teams that will take part in the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf have been chosen: Argentina, Germany, Chile, Sweden, Usa, Spain, France and Australia In American World Team Tennis, Boris Becker will meet John McEnroe on 14th July Gasquet’s victory over Federer is causing great resonance in France: the young champion from Beziers was interviewed on France 2 and given a three page feature in Equipe.

Special Ranking

INDESIT ATP 2005 Race

Ranking in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race1 INDESIT ATP Entry Ranking1

1 Roger Federer (Sui)Age 23 – Race points 475

35 wins/2 defeats

On clay he’ll be more vulnerable but this year’s number 1 spot already looks set, months in advance, to be his. Federer’s only risk? Not winning a slam at Roland Garros, maybe.1

2 Rafael Nadal (Esp)Age 18 – Race points 365

35 wins/6 defeats

The most threatening alternative to Federer. He won his fi rst Masters Series in Monte Carlo and then the Barcelona tournament, making him one of the biggest favourites for Paris.7

3 Lleyton Hewitt (Aus)Age 24 – Race points 253

18 wins/3 defeats

This is the toughest moment of the season - the clay court stage. He’s no specialist but he has such confi dence in his own capacities that may well become competitive on clay as well.2

4 Marat Safi n (Rus)Age 25 – Race points 231

13 wins/5 defeats

You’d have to get into his mind to understand what’s happening to him. He has everything it takes to win on clay as well but he seems to have lost the brilliant touch he had at the start of the season.4

5 Andy Roddick (USA)Age 22 – Race points 228

23 wins/4 defeats

Regained his winning habit in the Houston tournament. Great things can’t be expected of him on clay, at best he’ll take home a few points to keep him in the lead group.3

6 Ivan Ljubicic (Cro)Age 26 – Race points 193

26 wins/9 defeats

The big surprise at the start of the season must also prove his worth away from the fast courts. It won’t be easy, partly because he’s not used to playing at this level every week.14

7 Andre Agassi (USA)Age 34 – Race points 163

18 wins/6 defeats

Always competitive, he’s hoping to summon up the resources needed to win just one more Slam. In the meantime, he continues to inhabit the Top 10, though he doesn’t look very competitive on clay.8

8 Gaston Gaudio (Arg)Age 26 – Race points 149

20 wins/7 defeats

The reigning Roland Garros champion has a real chance of doing a repeat. Not a great performer on fast surfaces, he suddenly gets very dangerous on clay, so he can be confi dent about maintaining his Top 10 ranking5

9 Nikolay Davidenko (Rus)Age 23 - Race points 144

17 wins/11 defeats

One of the big surprises of the season. A very complete player, he’s competitive on all surfaces, though clay isn’t his favourite. His main objective now is staying in the Top 10.16

10 Guillermo Coria (Arg)Age 23 - Race points 141

17 wins/8 defeats

Back on clay again, the Wizard immediately left his mark by reaching the fi nal in in Monte Carlo. Now ready to fi ght for a place in the top 8 for the Masters Cup at the year end.11

Pos. Team Points

1 Bryan/Bryan 327

2 Black/Ullyett 326

2 Knowles/Nestor 272

4 Bjorkman/Mirnyi 258

5 Arthurs/Hanley 235

6 Aspelin/Perry 208

7 Paes/Zimonjic 203

8 Cermak/Friedl 152

9 Damm/Stepanek 141

10 Bhupathi/Woodbridge 138

The world’s greatest doublesHere are the strongest teams in the current doubles season in Europe.Bryan / Bryan

Giving nothing awayAnd here are the rankings of the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race Top 100 players who commit the fewest double faults per match.

Player NationDouble faults

per match

Victor Hanescu Romania 0,9

Christophe Rochus Belgium 1,0

Nicolas Lapentti Ecuador 1,1

Rafael Nadal Spain 1,3

Mariano Puerta Argentina 1,3

Sebastien Grosjean France 1,4

Davide Sanguinetti Italy 1,4

Marat Safi n Russia 1,4

Potito Starace Italy 1,4

Tomas Zib Czech Rep. 1,4

Marat Safi n

Player NationPoints won on second service

Roger Federer Switzerland 60%Joachim Johansson Sweden 58%Rafael Nadal Spain 57%Mariano Puerta Argentina 57%Wayne Arthurs Australia 57%Andy Roddick USA 56%Stanislav Wawrinka Switzerland 56%Marat Safi n Russia 55%Andre Agassi USA 55%Olivier Rochus Belgium 55%

Second serveServing counts for less on clay courts, where the fi rst point is very often won on a second serve. Listed below are the Top 50 INDESIT ATP 2005 Race players who win the most points (%-wise) on their second serves.

Roger Federer

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(Un)familiar faces

Post scriptum

Readers of the Chinese version of Tennis Magazine voted Roger Federer as the most popular player. Over 50,000 readers voted Jim Courier, the great champion who retired in 2000, will be back as a doubles player at the Houston tournament with... Andre Agassi

They’re not as famous as the top players but on a good day they can beat anyone. Consistency players and sloggers, speed merchants and enfants prodiges, which of them will be the surprises at this stage of the season?

Surprise!

The Americans like to call them the underdogs but the term certainly doesn’t do them justice. They’re outsiders, players you wouldn’t ex-pect to see in key matches but who can beat a reigning champion.

The category breeds potential aces and honest racquet workers, young talents and precision athletes who would have made perfect marathon runners. What they all have in common is the ability to surprise, to beat even His Majesty Federer and even to win a little money if they’re good at betting. We took a look at these people in the backwa-ters of the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race to fi nd out which players the top seeds should be on the look out for on the way to Paris.At the head of the queue is a kid that’s set to reach the higher echelons of the game and who is only outside the top group at the moment because he’s maturing relati-vely slowly. Which doesn’t stop him being the hottest tipped outsider at this stage in the season. And in fact he’s moved to Pa-ris. We talking about the French Richard

Gasquet, from Beziers, which usually tur-ns out rugby champions rather than tennis stars. At 9 years old his photo was on the front cover of Tennis Magazine, with the eloquent title, “A gift from heaven”. And you didn’t have to be an expert to appreciate this, it was enough to see his backhand, having a gracefulness rarely seen in such a young kid. He won his fi rst ATP Masters Series match at 15, in Monte Carlo but only managed to follow it up three years after, in the last ATP Masters Series, once again the Country Club in Monte Carlo, where he scraped into the qualifi cations as a wild card. And as such he beat the world num-ber one Roger Federer in a show of specta-cular tennis. His backhand has few equals in terms of elegance, as well as being highly effective, but it’s his repertory as a whole that so impressive, because this little Fren-ch kid has rare fantasy. His physique is still lagging somewhat behind his talent but as soon as he puts on a few more kilos he’ll be Top 10 material. His lucky stars permitting, he’ll be public enemy no. 1 for the favourites

in Rome and Paris.Following him we have the Spanish David Ferrer, about as different from Gasquet as Ferrer, about as different from Gasquet as Ferreryou could imagine. For Ferrer is no mon-ster of talent, which is also why he deser-ves even more respect. A tennis player who came to the game from middle distance running, the Spaniard can run after the ball all morning without sweating and as long as his physique holds out, he’s a dangerous customer, especially if the game is drawn out and high technique gives way to sheer stamina and killer instinct. He can keep up a punishing pace from the base line and re-covers even the most impossible balls.Between the two we have mano de Piedra, aka Fernando Gonzalez. He doesn’t have the pure style of Gasquet but it would be hard to fi nd anyone who slogs more sava-gely than this Chilean. With that forehand that ought to have a fi rearm license, he can leave you three metres off the ball at every shot. Pity for him that he knows little of per-centage tennis, ie. the tactical sense that tells you not to risk more than is necessary.

Richard Gasquet

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(Un)familiar faces

A 18 years 10 months, Nadal is the second youngest winner of a Masters Series after Michael Chang (18 years 5 months, Toronto) It was an honest and self-ironic Safi n we saw in Monte Carlo, where he lost to Ferrero: “One thing’s certain. When I play badly, I play really badly!” Hugo Boss renewed its sponsoring of the Davis Cup till 2008. It will thus become the longest-standing sponsor of the over 100 year old event

Half measures are not for him.And now for the fi rst Argentinean in this line up of outsiders. Mariano Puerta is a strange player. If you meet him in the Club, you could take him for a banker enjoying a day away from the City. With his incipient pot belly and generally somewhat less than gladiatorial physique, he hardly encoura-ges you to bet on him against the athletic monsters that abound on today’s circuit. But when you see him unleash that left-handed text-book backhand, you realize why the big names breathe a sigh of relief when they see his name come out on the other side of the draw. There are still doubts though about his stamina in matches that run to fi ve sets.A player that looks very solid physically on the other hand, is Filippo Volandri. His li-mit is a technical one - his serve, though improved, isn’t up to the rest of the shots in his repertory. And in fact he’s the Top 100 player with the lowest ace rate. But if he survives the fi rst few shots in the game, he’s wicked off the base line, being one of the few who can play winning shots either forehand or backhand.

An even more complete player is the Spa-nis Tommy Robredo who lacks only a little more punch in his shots to make the next quality leap. At the start of his career he was dangerous on clay, now he’s maybe more competitive on cement. He’s a tricky customer because he can do everything, including the subtle art of the chop, at whi-ch he excels. Igor Andreev is very different from Robre-Igor Andreev is very different from Robre-Igor Andreevdo. He can hit hard, very hard, but is still a little lacking in regularity. A great slogger on a good day though, he can be formida-ble, as no less than Macho Nadal found out when he lost to him in Valencia. But consi-stent performance is as important as power and Andreev is decidedly wanting.Something no one could say of Alberto Martin. He has patience to spare but not the power. A fi ne backhand, true, but befo-re winning a point he has to nag away at his adversary for ages and risks tiring himself out in the process.To close our Top 10 outsiders, another two hard sloggers, the French Paul-Henri Ma-thieu and the Argentinian Agustin Calleri.All we can do now is wait and see what happens on court. Rome, Hamburg and Paris might be launch pads that propel them from relative nonentity into the top player club.

Those are our “surprise” players. Only the court will show if we’re right in our predic-tions. Rome, Hamburg and Paris might be launch pads that propel them from relative nonentity into the top player club.

David Ferrer

Fernando Gonzalez Agustin Calleri

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Clay means hard work, sweat, suffering, conditions that have Clay means hard work, sweat, suffering, conditions that have never worried me. Most fans remember my fi ve consecutive Wimbledon wins, but at Roland Garros I won 6 out of 8...“

“

Bjorn Borg

Borg’s headband

Memorabilia

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Roma caput mundi. In ten-nis too. Rome has its pe-culiar charm, produced by that strange combi-nation of an archaeolo-gical setting and a local

population that’s one of the warmest and most bizarre you can imagine.Rome has always been the scene of in-credible stories. Who doesn’t remem-ber Thomas Muster turning up on court with his leg in plaster and announcing in all seriousness, “I’ll be back next year to win”. Behind the smiles we were all laughing. But the year after he did win the tournament. Or the great battle between Ivan Lendl and Guiller-mo Perez Roldan in the fi nal in 1988. And again, that old gentleman in the tatty blue shirt who got up in the VIP stand while Panatta was losing disa-strously to Gerulaitis: “Adriano, you’re the worst of the worst!” But he said it with such affection that he managed to spur on the champion to a come-back.

Rome and its public - an insepara-ble duo that makes this tournament the most curious of the circuit. But it’s also a public that knows and lo-ves its tennis, that pays tribute to the icons of the game and above all spurs on the real gladiators, the ones that never give up a ball, that sweat blood and tears till the last 15.Homage will undoubtedly be paid to Andre Agassi because everyone knows that it could be the last time the Las Vegas Kid wields a racquet in the Eternal City. An Agassi who in Rome lost to Stefano Pescolido, threw away a fi nal against Alberto Mancini but also triumphed when no one thought he would any more, in 2002, in the fi nal with Tommy Haas.But Rome will above all be greeting the two new phenomena of world tennis: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The former they’ve already seen at work, at a time when he was still mortal though. They’re now keen to see the delights

The Rome tournament is a special event that draws a colourful public and gets the whole city involved, eager as it is to discover a new local hero, like Adriano Panatta in 1976...

ROME SPECIAL

Post scriptum

Only fi ve “teenagers” have ever won an ATP Masters Series tournament: Nadal (18, Monte Carlo 2005), Medvedev (19, Monte Carlo and Hamburg 1994), Chang (18, Toronto 1990) and Agassi (19, Miami 1990) In the Era Open, US players have won most in Rome, with 7 victories. Followed by Spain with 6, Sweden with 4, and Argentina and Austria with 3

Date: 2nd – 8th May 2005

Venue: viale dei Gladiatori, 31 00194 Roma

Tournament director: Sergio Palmieri

Surface: clay

Draw size: 64 players

Prize money: € 2,082,500

Winner in 2004: Carlos Moya

Key info

RafaelNadal

Carlos Moya

The gladiators

10

of the extra-terrestrial version, even thou-gh on clay he becomes more vulnerable. And over the head of the Swiss ace han-gs the sword of Nadalito, who missed Rome last year because of a minor injury. This year though he’s one of the favou-rites after his success in Monte Carlo.But the two of them won’t be fi ghting it out on their own - there are hordes of clay specialists ready to ambush them. Top of the list is the Magician, aka Guil-lermo Coria, who after an operation on his shoulder is back delighting the tennis crowds again, with that physique of his that makes you wonder how on earth he stands up to athletes like Safi n, Roddick and Nadal (answer: tennis is played with the arms and legs but also with the head).And after him a numerous Spanish speaking contingent, from the reigning Paris cham-pion Gaston Gaudio, to the current Rome

champion Carlos Moya, not to mention Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo, Guillermo Canas, David Ferrer and a who-le list bordering on the encyclopaedic.And the other top players in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Race? Remember, there are big differences between the various sur-faces, so the rankings may change when the play moves to clay. On clay Andy Roddick has so far achieved nothing but embarrassment. Hewitt is little bet-ter and Safi n isn’t encouraging anyone to bet on him. Of this ace trio, Safi n has the best credentials, provided he’s wil-ling to suffer even more than he had to to win the season’s fi rst Slam, in Australia. But Rome isn’t only interested in foreign champions. Italian players have often risen to the occasion with the crowd cheering them on to their fi rst triumph. All the local hopes are in Filippo Volandri, a player that no one wants to meet on clay. If he had a serve on a par with his other shots, he’d be permanently in the Top 20. He reached the quarter-fi nals in Monte Carlo, so one would be justifi ed in hoping for a miracle at the Foro. An Italian, let’s not forget, ha-sn’t reached a fi nal in Rome since 1978.And from nearby Campania whole busloa-ds will be arriving to support the kid from Cervinara, Potito Starace. People are keen to see if he can build on his exploits last year; if he rises to the occasion, he could cause a big upset. Attention will also be on

the young promises, from Andreas Seppi to Fabio Fognini, a 17 year old who would be well worth the effort of going to see in the qualifying rounds (30th April – 1st May).For the rest, the Foro Italico is the per-fect venue for a day of splendid tennis. Not to mention the evening, when the village will host famous names from show business and the court will see champions that have written the history of our sport. As a parallel event, in fact, there will be a leg of the Senior Tour, fea-turing John McEnroe and Mats Wilan-der, Henri Leconte and Guy Forget, Jim Courier and Thomas Muster, and the Italians Paolo Canè and Renzo Furlan.

Post scriptum

Each of the last 9 years has seen a different winner; the last player to win twice in a row was Thomas Muster in 1995 and 1996 Andre Agassi is the player who’s won the most Masters Series: 17. Followed by Pete Sampras with 11 and Thomas Muster with 8

ROME SPECIAL

Here are all the winners in the Open Era.

1969 John Newcombe (Aus)1970 Ilie Nastase (Rom)1971 Rod Laver (Aus)1972 Manuel Orantes (Esp)1973 Ilie Nastase (Rom)1974 Bjorn Borg (Swe)1975 Raul Ramirez (Mex)1976 Adriano Panatta (Ita)1977 Vitas Gerulaitis (USA)1978 Bjorn Borg (Swe)1979 Vitas Gerulaitis (USA)1980 Guillermo Vilas (Arg)1981 José Luis Clerc (Arg)1982 Andres Gomez (Ecu)1983 Jimmy Arias (USA)1984 Andres Gomez (Ecu)1985 Yannick Noah (Fra)1986 Ivan Lendl (Cze)1987 Mats Wilander (Swe)1988 Ivan Lendl (Cze)1989 Alberto Mancini (Arg)1990 Thomas Muster (Aut)1991 Emilio Sanchez (Esp)1992 Jim Courier (USA)1993 Jim Courier (USA)1994 Pete Sampras (USA)1995 Thomas Muster (Aut)1996 Thomas Muster (Aut)1997 Alex Corretja (Esp)1998 Marcelo Rios (Chi)1999 Gustavo Kuerten (Bra)2000 Magnus Norman (Swe)2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero (Esp)2002 Andre Agassi (USA)2003 Felix Mantilla (Esp)2004 Carlos Moya (Esp)

Past winners

3 victoriesThomas Muster

2 victoriesBjorn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Andrei Gomez, Ivan Lendl,

Thomas Muster, Jim Courier

Habitual winners

Filippo Volandri

AndreAgassi

11

Historic momentsThe Foro Italico has always been a stage for epic contests, extraordinary exploits and curious spectacles. Here’s our Top Ten.

Roger Federer seems stuck on 8 and has won 4 (out of a possible 9) different ATP Masters Series. The record is 7, held by Agassi Useful tip: don’t miss the matches on the secondary courts, especially if Italians are playing. The atmosphere is magic. One thing to remember, get there well before the match starts or you may not fi nd a seat The youngest Rome Tournament champion was Bjorn Borg, winner in 1974 at 17 years, 11 months and 28 days

It could only happen in Rome! The ma-tch seemed over: Alberto Mancini on the verge of defeat at the hands of Mark Koevermans, who plays a killer shot as a spectator throws a roll on court. The ref orders a replay. Mancini takes courage, beats the Dutchman and gets through to the fi nal. In 1991.

Koeverman’s rollA drunk in Miami breaks his leg for him, in 1989. He resumes training in a chair specially made for him and swears he’ll be back stronger than ever. Like Rambo in tennis shorts. But he came back to Rome the year after, and won.

Muster’s plaster

1988 - Lendl in a ferocious fi ve-set fi nal against Guillermo Perez Roldan, whom the Roman public had adopted as un-derdog. The good-looking Argentinian fought like a tiger but lost in the end. Lendl was whistled during the trophy ceremony and swore he’d never come back to Rome.

Lendl’s whistlesPete Sampras never liked clay, and of his 14 Slam wins, in fact, there’s not a single Roland Garros. But in 1994, in Rome, he played pure attacking, text-book tennis on clay as well. Hats off.

Pistol Pete

1976 was the golden year of Italian ten-nis, with Adriano Panatta winning in Rome and Paris and spurring on the Italian team to win the Davis Cup. In Rome he won after breaking 11 match points in the fi rst round.

Local heroSome say it’s the fi nest court in the wor-ld, the “Pallacorda” in the Foro Italico, surrounded by magnifi cent statues. And when Italians are playing, there’s an atmosphere of gladiatorial contests in the Coliseum.

What a court!

José Higueras, one of the most consi-stent (and boring) players on the circuit, was showered with coins in his match with Adriano Panatta in the 1978 semi-fi nals and decided to abandon the court.

Higueras’s coinsRome was famous for years not only for its tennis tournament but also for the parties that enlivened the evenings in what became known as the most beau-tiful and desirable “village” in the world of tennis.

Vanity Fair

If you’d bet even a few euro on Mantilla winning in 2003, you’d have won a nice little pile. In the fi nal he beat the player who was to become the current pheno-menon: Roger Federer. Mantilla was the fi rst non-seeded winner since the time of Martin Mulligan (1963).

Mantilla is FelixThe fi rst International Championship to be played in Italy took place in Milan in1930. It was won by a tennis legend, the American Big Bill Tilden, who strolled through the fi nal against the Italian Uberto De Morpurgo (6-1, 6-1, 6-2). The tournament was moved to Rome in 1935.

The fi rst time

Thomas Muster

Ivan Lendl

Adriano Panatta

Josè Higueras

Felix Mantilla

12

Post scriptum

The oldest winner in Rome was Rod Laver: 1971 at 32 years, 9 months and 1 day The centre court at Foro Italico holds 9,485 spectators The tournament’s official site: www.telecomitaliamasters.it

ROME SPECIAL

Italy has been waiting for a Top 10 player since the times of Adriano Pa-natta and Corrado Barazzutti. Hopes for the future are pinned on the most promising of young Italian talents, 18 year old Fabio Fognini, a junior who’s already performing well in his fi rst professional games. Particularly good on clay, he has a sound base-line game and suffi cient personality to make the top levels. Expectations are also focussing on another 18 year old, Gianluca Naso, as well as on the 14 year old phenomenon Adelchi Vir-gili, though we’ll have to wait a few seasons to see if his talent will really come through.

Future stars

Fabio Fognini

For further information, please contact Chiara Pascarella (Indesit Company, chiara.pascarella@indesitcompany.com, tel. +39 (0)732 662432) or Valentina Broglia (Indesit Company, valentina.broglia@indesitcompany.com, tel. +39 (0)2 30702551)

Ranking by nation

Nation Top 3

Argentina 26

Spain 31

USA 40

Russia 46

Sweden 69

Czech Rep. 87

Croatia 97

Germany 100

France 127

Belgium 135

Italy 174

Italy isn’t going through a very happy stage at present, given it only has one player in the top 30 in the INDESIT ATP 2005 Rankings. There are 16 other na-tions, in fact, that have at least one player ranking higher than the Italian Filippo Volandri (no. 29). However, there are some new faces warming up for the big tournaments, such as Potito Starace and Andreas Seppi. The special ranking table below is to show Italy’s position with respect to the Top 10 nations. Italy’s best chance of entering this grouping is in this season, since her best players prefer clay. To attain 10th place Italy needs to gain 40 places on Belgium. Anyway, Italy has three players in the Top 100, as well as Seppi, who promises to join the ranking soon, given his good start to the clay season. This puts Italy in an honou-rable 10th place in terms of players in the Top 100.

Top 100

NationTop 100 players

Spain 16

Argentina 11

France 8

USA 7

Czech Rep. 7

Germany 6

Russia 4

Italy 4

Sweden 3

Croatia 3

Head hunting for the Top 10

Potito Starace