World number two Rafael Nadal [Images] will lead a strong field at the US $400,000 2006 Chennai Open, to be held at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium from January 2-8.

The Chennai Open is South Asia's only ATP International Series event and will open the new season.

The line-up also includes defending champion Carlos Moya [Images], and Asia's top-ranking player and 2003 champion Paradorn Srichaphan [Images].

Announcing the field of players, Ravi Krishnan, managing director -- IMG-TWI South Asia and International vice-president, said, "With every edition the Chennai Open has grown in stature and this year too we have a galaxy of top players, each capable of winning the first ATP title of the new season."

This will be Nadal's second visit to Chennai, after a mixed outing in 2004.

Though seeded sixth in the singles draw then, he was a first round upset victim, falling in straight sets to unseeded Frenchman Thierry Ascione (6-7, 4-6). But he paired with countryman Tommy Robredo to win the doubles title; the unseeded pair prevailed over top seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in a thrilling three-setter (7-6, 4-6, 6-3).

French Open champion Nadal, who is the draw card for the event, set a scorching pace in 2005 with 11 title wins, only equaled by world number one Roger Federer [Images]. Nadal and Federer are the first leading duo since 1981 to win over 10 titles in a season, a feat accomplished by the legendary No.1 John McEnroe and No.2 Ivan Lendl.

Krishnan added, "Nadal has enjoyed his best season in 2005 and has been playing exceedingly well consistently. Moya and Srichaphan too are at their best in Chennai. They are all ATP title winners, having picked off some of the game's big names."

Chennai has long been known as the Mecca of Indian tennis. Players of high stature, such as Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj and Leander Paes [Images], have all spent significant parts of their careers in this great city.

Renamed the Chennai Open in 2005, the event will be held for its 11th consecutive year.

The tournament is conducted in Chennai under the aegis of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and organised with the active collaboration of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA).

Players confirmed for Chennai Open 2006

1 Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2 Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic)
3 Carlos Moya (Spain)
4 Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand)
5 Tomas Behrend (Germany [Images])
6 Gilles Muller (Luxembourg)
7 Phau Bjorn (Germany)
8 Hyung-Taik Lee (Korea)
9 Rainer Schuettler (Germany)
10 Cyril Saulnier (France [Images])
11 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain)
12 Lukas Dlouhy (Czech Republic)
13 Norman Dick (Belgium)
14 Kristof Vliegen (Belgium)
15 Marcos Daniel (Brazil [Images])
16 Kevin Kim (USA)
17 Bobby Reynolds (USA)
18 Thierry Ascione (France)
19 Jiri Novak (Czech Republic)
20 Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (Chinese Taipei)
21 Razvan Sabau (Romania)
22 Alexander Waske (Germany)
23 Ramon Delgado (Paraguay)
24 Ricardo Mello (Brazil)
25 Fernando Vicente (Spain)

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