Born: 30/8/79 Nationality: Argentine Seeded: 33 World ranking: 34 US Open best: 1st round (2002) Recent record: 2002: 1st round 2001: N/A 2000: 1st round

Chela made a huge improvement in 2002 and has struggled to match those performances this season.

The Argentine finished in the world's top 25 last year and made huge strides on hardcourts.

He reached the semi-finals in Sydney and Long Island, and the last eight at the Nasdaq-100 in Miami.

A fourth-round appearance at the US Open followed - his best effort to date in Grand Slams.

He admits he prefers claycourt tennis and reaching the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo has been the highlight of his season, so far.

Argentina is enjoying a boom in men's tennis at the moment and competition is tough to be the best.

Chela has lost ground this year, with Mariano Zabaleta, David Nalbandian and, in particular, Guillermo Coria all enjoying good seasons.