Qatar open tennis tournament starts today Top seeded Spain's David Ferrer and second seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet will play qualifiers in the first round of the US $1,054,720 prize-money outdoor hard-court Qatar Open tennis tournament, part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series, starting later today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex here. Last year's finalist Gael Monfils of France will face wild card Mousa Shaman Zayed of Qatar in the first round in the 21st edition of the tournament sponsored by ExxonMobil Qatar. Two other wild cards hosts Qatar's Jabor Mohammed Ali Mutawa and Egyptian Mohammed Safwat will clash in another first round match. Third seeded German Philipp Kholschreiber will take on Croatian Ivan Dodig while fourth seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny will be challenged by 65th ranked German Benjamin Becker's booming serves. The 31-year-old consistently serves around 220kmph, but this has not helped him much as he has only one career title and a 92-124 ATP tour win-loss record. Youzhny, has an 11-9 record in the tournament, posted his best performance in 2002 when he reached the semi-finals. The other seeds are Jeremy Chardy of France (5th), Viktor Troicki of Serbia (6th), Feliciano Lopez of Spain (7th) and Pablo Andujar of Spain (8th). The first day's schedule starts at 3.30pm. Germans Tobias Kamke and Jan-Lennard Struff will play the first match on Court 1. In other matches starting today at 3.30pm, Czech Republic's Jan Hernych will face Swiss Marco Chiudinelli on Court 2. Moldova's Radu Albot will play German Michael Berrer on Court 3 and Frenchman Josselin Ouanna will play Serbia's Dusan Lajovic on Court 4. Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) President Nasser bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi said the federation is delighted to continue its co-operation with ExxonMobil Qatar and highlighted the company’s contributions to tennis tournaments organised by QTF. "QTF is proud of the support we have received from ExxonMobil Qatar for 19 consecutive years," said Al Khelaifi. "This is the 21st year of the tournament and this sponsorship enables us to continue to deliver a high quality event for both players and attendees and helps elevate the profile of tennis in Qatar." ExxonMobil Qatar President and General Manager Bart Cahir, "The Qatar ExxonMobil Open has stood as one of the premier sporting events in Qatar for more than two decades, consistently attracting some of the biggest stars in the world of tennis while shining a spotlight on Doha." "The tournament’s longevity and ongoing success contribute to Qatar's recognition and selection as a first-rate host to world-class sporting events. This is a direct reflection of the outstanding team at QTF led by Nasser Al Khelaifi, with whom we are extremely proud to partner year after year," he added. The men's singles title winner will receive US$ 180,600 prize-money and 250 points while the runner-up will get US $95,130 and 150 points. The semi-finalists will get US$ 51,530 and 90 points each while the quarter-finalists will get US $29,360 and 45 points each. Qatar Open Tournament Director is Karim Alami, Tour Manager is Fabrizio Sestini, Referee is Ashraf Hamouda and ATP's Supervisor for the tournament is Thomas Karlberg.
Source : QNA