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.  

YEAH!! Tennis is sooooo happening in Houston RIGHT NOW!! Yesterday's results were strong and tonight will be DOMINATED by James Blake and Sam Querrey!

See you at the ROCC, DISHIES!

RESULTS - SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2012
QUALIFYING SECOND ROUND
[1] Go Soeda (JPN) d Robby Ginepri (USA) 64 64
[2] Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d (WC) Nicholas Naumann (USA) 63 61
[3] Ricardo Mello (BRA) d Peter Polansky (CAN) 75 63
[4] Michael Russell (USA) d Denes Lukacs (HUN) 64 75
[5] Tommy Haas (GER) d Chris Wettengel (USA) 63 63
Catalin-Ionut Gard (ROU) d [6] Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 75 46 62
Daniel Kosakowski (USA) d [7] Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 76(4) 64
Jan Hernych (CZE) d [8] Michael Yani (USA) 76(5) 10 ret.
 

ORDER OF PLAY - MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012
Stadium Court start 12:00 pm
Qualifying - [4] Michael Russell (USA) vs Daniel Kosakowski (USA)
Qualifying - [1] Go Soeda (JPN) vs [5] Tommy Haas (GER)
Michael Kohlman (GER) & Alexander Waske (GER) vs (WC) Robert Kendrick (USA) & Ryan Sweeting (USA)
Not Before 6:00 pm
(6) Carlos Berlocq (ARG) vs James Blake (USA)
Eric Prodon (FRA) vs Sam Querrey (USA)

COURT 3 start 12:00 pm
Qualifying - [2] Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs Jan Hernych (CZE)
Qualifying - [3] Ricardo Mello (BRA) vs Catalin-Ionut Gard (ROU)
Not Before 4 p.m.
Bjorn Phau (GER) vs Diego Junqueira (ARG)

NOTES
- Monday nights' schedule includes a pair of former finalists in Americans James Blake (2008) and Sam Querrey (2010).
- A preliminary schedule for the week has been set. This schedule is subject to change.
TUESDAY: Night session will feature defending champion Ryan Sweeting against a qualifier.
WEDNESDAY: Afternoon session will feature American rising star Ryan Harrison against No. 7 Alex Bogomolov, Jr. The night session will feature No. 3 Feliciano Lopez in his first match of the tournament.
THURSDAY: The first matches for No. 1 Mardy Fish, No. 2 John Isner and No. 4 Juan Monaco will all be held, but the sessions are still to be determined.
- This marks the second year in a row a former champion has played in qualifying at the US Men's Clay Court Championship. Tommy Haas, who has a bye in the 2012 qualifying draw, won the event in 2004. The 2007 champion Ivo Karlovic successfully qualified last year.
- Qualifying is a rare event for Tommy Haas. This is just the seventh time since he began playing on the ATP World Tour in 1996 that he has played qualifying. He has successfully reached the main draw just twice in his previous six attempts, including last fall in Vienna where he reached the quarterfinals.
- Five participants in the US Men's Clay Court Championship are playing Davis Cup this weekend. Ryan Harrison and John Isner represented the U.S. in a win over France, Ivo Karlovic  played for Croatia at Argentina where Juan Monaco was on the team, and Joao Souza represented Brazil in a home zonal tie against Colombia.

ONLY LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN for the 2012 US Men’s Clay Court Championship. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-527-0345. Once again, the US Men’s Clay Court Championship will provide the Texas Children’s Ticket Turnback program. Any fans holding tickets for a session that they cannot use are invited to return those tickets to the box office where they will be sold for face value and the entire resale price will be donated to Texas Children’s Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Institute.

The first wild cards for the 2012 US Men’s Clay Court Championship have been awarded to Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, the 15^th ranked player on the ATP World Tour, and Argentina’s Juan Monaco, who is No. 21.
 
Lopez and Monaco join a pair of Top 10 Americans, Mardy Fish and John Isner, in committing to the event that will be held April 9-15 at River Oaks Country Club.
 
Feliciano LopezLopez, who has been ranked in the Top 50 in eight of the past nine seasons, will be making his tournament debut in Houston. He has been a mainstay of Spain’s Davis Cup success in recent years, playing in 20 ties and contributing to four championship teams. The three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist owns two ATP World Tour titles in seven career finals.
 
Monaco ranks ninth among active players for career clay court wins with a 157-91 record on the surface. He has claimed four titles in 11 finals on clay, including earlier this year in Vina del Mar. In 2011, he helped Argentina to the Davis Cup final against Spain. Monaco was the 2006 runner-up of the River Oaks International, and went 2-2 at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship at Westside, reaching the quarterfinals in 2007.
 
“We’re thrilled to have the chance to grant Feliciano and Juan wild cards,” tournament director Van Barry said. “To have these Top 25 international stars join our field that’s anchored by a couple of Top 10 Americans with Mardy and John is a very exciting way to gear up for the tournament which begins in just over two weeks.”
 
Fish, the 2006 US Men’s Clay Court Champion, is ranked No. 8, while Isner has reached a career high No. 10 on Monday after reaching the final this past week at Indian Wells by beating No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
 
Fish is one of four former champions in the field, including Ryan Sweeting (2011), Marcel Granollers (2008) and Ivo Karlovic (2007). Three former finalists are also in the field, and they are all Americans: Sam Querrey (2010), Wayne Odesnik (2009) and James Blake (2008).
 
The addition of Lopez and Monaco brings the tournament field to 23 players thus far (SEE CURRENT LIST HERE). One more wild card will be awarded and four other players will join the field through the qualifying tournament that begins April 7.
 
The doubles field will be announced 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.
 
ONLY LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN for the 2012 US Men’s Clay Court Championship. The popular Champs Pass that includes all sessions from Friday-Sunday has sold out, and only standing room only tickets remain for Saturday’s singles semifinals and doubles final. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-874-629.
 
Once again, the US Men’s Clay Court Championship will provide the Texas Children’s Ticket Turnback program. Any fans holding tickets for a session that they cannot use are invited to return those tickets to the box office where they will be sold for face value and the entire resale price will be donated to Texas Children’s Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Institute.

LADIES! It's time for Tennis!! The U.S Men's Clay Court Champoinships are about to happen and the eye candy is uber sweet this year!! Last years winner Lleyton Hewitt has accepted a wild card to return from a January hip operation and defend his title at River Oaks Country Club April 5-11.

Hewitt, a former World No. 1, injured his right hip while playing Hopman Cup in early January 2010. After a fourth-round loss to Roger Federer at the Australian Open he underwent surgery in Hobart to repair a torn labrum. He had a similar operation on his left hip in April 2008.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to defend my title in Houston,” Hewitt said. “The River Oaks Club is a great place to play and the people there really supportive. I couldn’t think of a better place to come back on to the Tour after an injury.”

The last player to successfully defend his US Men’s Clay Court Championship title was Andy Roddick, who won titles in 2001 and 2002. Hewitt won the 2009 title without dropping a set.

Gold medalist and World No. 11 Fernando Gonzalez is projected to be the top seed for the US Men's Clay Court Championship. The tournament’s field also includes the entire US Davis Cup team of John Isner and Sam Querrey along with Bob and Mike Bryan. Former champions Mardy Fish and Ivo Karlovic are also entered into the tournament, along with Houston resident Michael Russell and fellow Americans Taylor Dent and Rajeev Ram.

Here’s a look at the full field and their ranking as of February 22, 2010.

Season tickets, individual sessions and the finals weekend “Champ Pass” for the 2010 are on sale now. In2009, the final three days of the tournament sold out by mid-week. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com/tickets