The 2009 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters was a men's tennis tournament for professional players held from 11 April until 19 April 2009, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 103rd edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which was sponsored by Rolex for the first time and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on the 2009 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, near Monte Carlo, Monaco. Except for Andy Roddick, all the top ranked male tennis players participated. World No. 2 Roger Federer had initially decided not to participate in this tournament but changed his mind and accepted a wild-card invitation to play. World No. 1 and first-seeded Rafael Nadal achieved a record fifth straight singles title at the event (the first to win five consecutives titles in any Masters tournament). The 2009 Monte Carlo Masters tournament was the only one of the nine "Masters 1000" events scheduled for that year without a mandatory player commitment. In 2007, the Association of Tennis Professionals had decided to make participation in the eight newly rebranded "Masters 1000" compulsory for all top players. The tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg were originally due to be removed from the top tier of events; however, the tournament directors filed lawsuits, and Monte Carlo was allowed to remain a top tier event while Hamburg became a 500 Series event. Tournament History The Monte Carlo Masters has been held since 1897, firstly as a tournament for amateur players until it became a professional tournament from 1969 onwards with the start of the Open Era. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the defending champion from 2008, has been the most successful player of the Open Era, winning the previous four titles at the event. Since 1969, Ilie Năstase, Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Thomas Muster, Gustavo Kuerten and Juan Carlos Ferrero have all won multiple titles. Players such as Reginald Doherty, Laurence Doherty, Anthony Wilding and Gordon Lowe also managed to win a number of titles during the early 20th Century. Nadal was bidding to become the first player to win five successive titles in Monte Carlo. Tournament details The singles competition had a 56 player draw, with the top eight seeds receiving automatic entry into the second round. The doubles followed a similar concept, with a 28 player draw facilitating that the top eight seeds went into round