This is a bit of an afterthought tourney, coming as it does in the midst of growing anticipation (and impatience!) for Roland Garros and in the wake of consecutive Masters events. Nevertheless there are some notables in the draw that at least may make it an interesting sideshow as we await the more momentous draw to come on Friday.

Draw can be found here.

Former champion Roddick (yes, you read that correctly, though the event was held in St Pölten then) has sought and received a wildcard, a bit unusually. You wouldn't think he'd be keen on match practice for his worst Slam (a litany of first- and second-round exits) but perhaps he's hoping for a more respectable showing this time round--perhaps he wants to shore up his hold on the No 3 spot, which he and Davydenko will exchange yet again in tomorrow's rankings.

Melzer turned some heads in Hamburg, taking out Gasquet and going up a set on Gonzalez, and as home favourite may have some more strong results here as well as he comes up against defending champion Davydenko, whom he is slated to meet in the QFs.

Ljubicic is also turning up, as the third Top 10 player present. As usual there is not much further to be said about that.

Meanwhile Hamburg semifinalist Hewitt's name looms large in the draw, given his abrupt return to form this week. He is in Roddick's half and looks good for the final. Perhaps a rematch against the Russian is in the cards.

Nevermind. Monaco bundled him out in 3 and 1. :blink: A disappointment for the Austrian fans but a tough opening match opponent to be sure.

Roddick won against Peya yesterday 6-4, 7-5 so at least won't go away empty-handed.

Things are shaping up pretty well. The Top 3 seeds are still in it, and Ljubicic was seen off by Horna. :whistle:

The other news is that Monfils won't be challenging Spadea's record for most consecutive ATP-level losses after all. He's reached the QFs and will face Roddick; he beat the American at that stage in Rome last year, in their last meeting, but the Frenchman isn't quite the same player these days. Still if he had to face Roddick anywhere he'd want it to be on the red clay, so we'll see--also the last two wins may have given him some confidence, and revivals can occur without warning.

Davydenko faces Monaco, which could be a tough one for the Russian, and Hewitt faces another Argentine in Hartfield. The other QF features unseeded clay stalwarts Horna v Montanes.

Bit of a doubles update:

Butorac/Murray managed to beat the 4th seeds Coetzee/Wassen, but then lost to Friedl/Skoch. Friedl/Skoch are playing Delic/Roddick :yikes: next!

Could be a Roddick v Hewitt SF ... like a flash of the past ... but on red clay :o ... interesting :wacko:

Looks like in the top half ot the draw, there could be an interesting cascade started by Mirnyi, with the winner of the previous round losing in the next: Mirnyi lost to Montcourt :yikes: , Montcourt to Montanes, Montanes may well lose to Horna, who could then fall to Davydenko ... of course the great thing with tennis is, you never know :D

Sorry for the impressionistic post ... but am knackered and overworked at the moment ...

That's a nice observation on the Russian nesting doll nature of that section of the draw, MJT. :P

Meanwhile Monfils is up a set and a break against Roddick. Can't believe it.

A couple of upsets today, with Hewitt the last seed standing. Monfils might be coming out of his slump or just having a good week, taking out Roddick 7-5, 6-3. The American had five break points to draw even in the second set but couldn't convert. Meanwhile defending champion Davydenko fell to Monaco in the course of a two-and-a-half-hour match, the Argentine winning it 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4. Horna had a similarly tight match against Montanes before running away with it in the third, 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 6-1, setting up an all-South American semi in the top half.

I'm thinking it'll be a Monaco v Hewitt final, with the Australian to win his first title on red clay.

Hewitt out to Monfils in straights 6-4, 7-5. :blink: He had opportunities to get back in it--a set point on the Frenchman's serve leading 5-4, a break point when Monfils was serving for it 6-5 (he even double-faulted on his second match point but took the third). Quite an upset for Monfils. What a revival, just in time for his home Slam, perhaps.

nice to see some positive results from monfils...and hewitt as well, semis in hamburg and this week :clap:

Monaco moves past Horna 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second final on the year (third overall), where he will face Monfils (who is contesting his fifth career final). They have a win apiece in their H2H, the Frenchman actually beating Monaco en route to his only title in Sopot; the Argentine beat him earlier this year in Estoril, although Monfils seems to have rediscovered his game this week.

For all the big names we ended up with an unseeded player and a wildcard in the (alliterative) final. Heh.

Well done to Monaco, who won his second title on the year (second ever in fact) with a 7-6(3), 6-0 win over Monfils. The Frenchman did well this week, despite the result, not only breaking his losing streak but upsetting Roddick and Hewitt along the way to reach the final. His confidence should be riding high as he goes into his home Slam.