Dish-Houston

Four former champions are on the initial entry list of 21 players for the 2014 Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men's Clay Court Championship that will be held April 7-13. It will mark the 80th tournament that River Oaks Country Club has hosted.

Defending champion John Isner of the United States will be joined by former champions Juan Monaco(2012), Lleyton Hewitt (2009) and Ivo Karlovic (2007) in the tournament. 

Isner, at No. 13, is the top ranked of all entrants, and is one of three Top 20 players in the field, joined by Spaniards Tommy Robredo (No. 16) and Nicolas Almagro (No. 17). Robredo and Almagro, the 2013 runner-up, are two of only four active players on the ATP with more than 200 career match wins on clay.  

“We are very pleased to see the caliber of players on our initial entry list,” said Tournament Director Van Barry. “This field really has everything we could ask for - an international flavor, players with high rankings, players who have had success here and players who are well-liked by our fans. We are very excited to have all these guys come to River Oaks and are looking forward to a great week with them as we celebrate the 80th tournament in the Club's history.”

The initial entry list of 21 includes players from 13 countries. Three more players will be granted wild cards into the field, while four will be added through a qualifying tournament held April 5-7. Below is the initial entry list (Feb. 24 ranking in parentheses):

Nicolas Almagro - Spain (17)
Benjamin Becker - Germany (90)
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. - Russia (93)
Pablo Cuevas - Uruguay (197*)
Somdev Devvarman - India (78)
Matthew Ebden - Australia (62)
Alejandro Falla - Colombia (79)
Daniel Gimeno-Traver - Spain (85)
Santiago Giraldo - Colombia (58)
Alejandro Gonzalez - Colombia (76)
Lleyton Hewitt - Australia (42)
John Isner - United States (13)
Ivo Karlovic - Croatia (55)
Bradley Klahn - United States (65)
Feliciano Lopez - Spain (37)
Juan Monaco - Argentina (43)
Sam Querrey - United States (56)
Tommy Robredo - Spain (16)
Janko Tipsarevic - Serbia (70)
Fernando Verdasco - Spain (32)
Donald Young - United States (91)
*Entry based on injury protected ranking

Two of the top doubles teams on the ATP World Tour have also committed to play the 2014 tournament.Bob and Mike Bryan, the twin-brother tandem that has won four titles at the US Men's Clay Court Championship, and the Spanish duo of Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero, champions at the 2013 ATP World Tour Finals, have both been entered into the doubles draw.
 
In 2014, River Oaks Country Club will celebrate hosting a tournament for the 80^th time since its inauguration in 1931. The upcoming tournament will also mark the 104^th staging of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship.

Tickets for the 2014 Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men's Clay Court Championship are on sale now. For more information, CLICK HERE.  

Four former winners of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship headline the initial acceptance list for the 2012 tournament that will be played April 9-15 at River Oaks Country Club.
 
Defending champion Ryan Sweeting will be joined in the field by former champions Marcel Granollers (2008), Ivo Karlovic (2007) and World No. 8 Mardy Fish (2006). They are joined in the field by James Blake, who was a two-time winner of the River Oaks International (2003, ’05).
 
Blake is also one of three US Men’s Clay Court Championship finalists in the field. The 2008 runner-up is joined by countrymen Sam Querrey (2010) and Wayne Odesnik (2009) in returning to River Oaks.
 
Those Americans are part of a contingent of eight US players in the field. Joining Sweeting, Fish, Blake, Querrey and Odesnik will be John Isner, who reached a career high ranking of No. 11 this week, Ryan Harrison and Bobby Reynolds.
 
“It is a great sign for the tournament to have so many players coming back to a place where they have previously had success,” said tournament director Van Barry. “This field represents a great mix of Americans as well as international stars, some very accomplished clay court players, veteran talent and rising stars. We really feel there is something for every fan with this roster of players.”
 
Here’s a look at the initial field and their ranking as of February 27, 2012:
44 Carlos Berlocq (ARG)                     
63 James Blake (USA)                       
35 Alex Bogomolov, Jr. (RUS)           
8 Mardy Fish (USA)                       
101 Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)          
28 Marcel Granollers (ESP)           
65 Ryan Harrison (USA)                       
11 John Isner (USA)                       
105 Tatsuma Ito (JPN)                       
41 Ivo Karlovic (CRO)                       
77 Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)                       
102 Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)                       
66 Xavier Malisse (BEL)                      
108 Wayne Odesnik (USA)           
109 Bjorn Phau (GER)
103 Eric Prodon (FRA)
87 Sam Querrey (USA)
113 Bobby Reynolds (USA)
100 Joao Souza (BRA)
82 Ryan Sweeting (USA)
98 Adrian Ungur (ROU)

Four other players will join the field through the qualifying tournament that begins April 7. Three players will also be awarded wild cards into the field.
 
The doubles field will be announce just before the tournament, but four-time winners of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship Bob and Mike Bryan have committed to return and defend their title once again.

It’s not too late to purchase individual session tickets and the very popular “Champ Pass” for the 2012 US Men’s Clay Court Championship! The Champ Pass includes a ticket to the Friday, Saturday and Sunday sessions, which are usually sold out before the tournament begins. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-874-6294

Tennis fever has clearly hit Houston!! Mardy Fish became the No. 1 player from the U.S. on Wednesday with a straight sets win over David Ferrer in the Miami quarterfinals. When the new rankings are released Monday, Fish will be ranked higher than Andy Roddick, who has been the top American since 2008. Fish is projected to climb from his current career high of No. 15 to No. 11 by reaching the Miami semifinals, and would likely reach the Top 10 if he were to advance to the Miami final.

Ryan Sweeting's wild card brings the total number of Americans in the field for 2011 to eight, including six of the seven Americans who are ranked in the Top 100. The 23-year-old played a brief collegiate career at the University of Florida and was the 2005 US Open junior champion. This will be Sweeting's third main draw appearance in Houston, including last year when he reached the second round as a qualifier before falling to Chile's Nicolas Massu in a third set.

Four players have been added to the field this week. In addition to Sweeting, former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler of Germany, Russian Igor Kunitsyn and Germany's Mischa Zverev have joined the field. Schuettler took the place of 2010 champion Juan Ignacio Chela, who withdrew for personal reasons, while Kunitsyn and Daniel entered the field after all possible special exempt spots from Miami were eliminated.

Twenty-four of the field of 28 players has been set, with four more to enter through this weekend's qualifying tournament, including Americans James Blake and Ryan Harrison, who join Sweeting as the wild card entrants. The top four seeds for this year's event will be Fish at No. 1, 2010 finalist Sam Querrey at No. 2, Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at No. 3 and American John Isner at No. 4. These four players will have first round byes.

DISH will have tickets to give away so follow us on TWITTER or Facebook to win your tickets!

The HOT boys of Tennis are lining up to grace H-Town with their fast and furious game! Two more American stars have committed to play the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship April 4-10 at River Oaks Country Club.
 
James Blake, the 2008 finalist, and John Isner, who shattered every conceivable match record during a marathon first round match at last year’s Wimbledon, have been added to a singles field that already includes 2010 finalist Sam Querrey and 2006 champion Mardy Fish.
 
These four singles stars will be joined by three-time doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan, who claimed their 10^th career major title by winning the Australian Open last month.
 
“It seems appropriate to talk about having an all-American field at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship” said tournament director Van Barry. “These players represent really two generations of American talent on the ATP World Tour. It will be our pleasure to host them along with the rest of our field at River Oaks April 4-10.”
 
Blake has been ranked as high as No. 4 in his career. He owns 10 career titles, and has reached 14 other finals, including at River Oaks in 2006. The 2008 recipient of the River Oaks Ernest Langston Sportsmanship Trophy along with his brother, Thomas, Blake owns a 16-9 career record in the US Men’s Clay Court Championship. In 2004, he teamed with Fish to claim the doubles title.
 
Isner will be making his fourth career appearance in Houston. Last year was a breakout season for the 6-foot-9 player who won an NCAA team title at Georgia. He won his maiden ATP title in Auckland while reaching three other finals. But his 2010 will be best remembered for pulling out an epic 70-68 fifth set win over Nicolas Mahut in the Wimbledon first round. Spread over three days, the match totaled 11 hours, five minutes, and featured 113 Isner aces.
 
Querrey also enjoyed a great 2010, ending the season with a career high ranking of No. 18 after winning a career-best four titles during the season, third-most on the ATP circuit, behind only Rafael Nadal (7) and Roger Federer (5). In April, Querrey reached the final at River Oaks where he lost to Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.
 
Fish, the 2006 Houston champion, reached four finals in 2010, winning a pair of titles. He ended the year at a career high ranking of No. 16 having posted a career high for match wins with a 40-14 record in 2010. Fish is 9-7 all-time at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in singles, and is a two-time doubles champion, teaming with Andy Roddick to claim the title in 2002 and with Blake to win in 2004.
 
The Bryans pushed their record haul of career titles to 68 thanks to a win at the Australian Open last month. The title in Melbourne was the 10^th major title of their career. The twins from California who are three-time champions at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship finished as the No. 1 team in the World for the sixth time in eight years in 2010.
 
The full singles acceptance list for the 2011 event will be released in late February.
 
Individual and “Champ Pass” tickets for the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship are on sale now. The popular Champ Pass includes a ticket to the Friday, Saturday and Sunday sessions, which are usually sold out before the tournament begins. A limited number of season ticket packages for the 2011 event are still remaining. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-874-6294.

US Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club
The 102nd competition for the US Men’s Clay Court Championship will be held April 4-10, 2011, at River Oaks Country Club in Houston. Started by the USTA in 1910, it has been held at numerous venues around the country. The tournament has been held in Houston since 2001, and will be held at River Oaks Country Club for the third straight year. Prior to hosting the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, River Oaks Country Club hosted its own event, The River Oaks International. Started in 1931, the River Oaks International roster of former champions includes Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, Guillermo Vilas and James Blake. The 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship will be the 77^th tournament at River Oaks, with the club hosting a tournament every year since 1946 after a four-year lapse due to the war. More information is available at www.mensclaycourt.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mensclaycourt.

WOW! Houston is filled with Tennis lovers so we HAVE to write about this amazing record breaking moment!!

After over 11 hours of clocked play that spanned 3 days at Wimby, American tennis player John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut broke all kinds of records. Needless to say, it had to end and the record breaking match finally has a winner - John Isner!

Just hours before heading back out on court today, Isner Tweeted that he "feels like a million bucks!!!"

Believe it or not, this was only the first-round match at Wimbledon, so get ready there's more to come!

All eyes on WIMBY!!!

CLICK HERE to follow DISH on Twitter!