Dish-Houston

How cool is this?? THe The 2011 main draw will be made a 3 p.m. TODAY LIVE ON TWITTER!! 

It will be featuring 2011 US Men's Clay Court Championship participant Somdev Devvarman of India. Devvarman is a two-time NCAA Champion from the University of Virginia and also a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. He is ranked a career high this week, having reached the final earlier this year in Johannesburg and the fourth round at Indian Wells.

As the draw is made, the match ups will instantly be tweeted by the tournament at HERE , then Devvarman will offer his opinion on the match on his personal Twitter. To make following easier, the conversation will be aggregated using the hashtag #ATPHouston. 

If you don't have your tickets yet, some are still available. Tickets for select individual sessions at the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship remain available. The Champ Pass and season ticket packages have sold out for the 2011 event. 

Information on tickets can be found HERE or by calling 713-874-6294.

One of DISH'S favorite programs in sports in Houston is what we are calling the ACE program!

Patrons with tickets they will not able to use may donate them back to the River Oaks box office. Those tickets will then be on sale at the box office for face value with 100% of the proceeds donated to the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Childrens.

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 HERE or on Twitter

The US Men's Clay Court Championship will once again be much more than just a tennis tournament at River Oaks Country Club as a number of ancillary events will complement the event next week. 

Main draw play will begin on Monday, April 4, for the tournament, but action will begin around the Club on Friday and the first players hitting the courts on Saturday in an attempt to qualify into the main draw.

Here's a look at the schedule for the week:
Friday, April 1
Draw Day - The singles main draw and qualifying draws will be made. The main draw will be made Friday afternoon in a special Twitter event. Follow the tournament on Twitter (www.twitter.com/mensclaycourt) for more information later this week. The qualifying draw will be made late Friday evening, and the draw along with Saturday's Order of Play will be posted on www.mensclaycourt.com by 11 p.m. Friday.

Saturday-Sunday, April 2-3
Qualifying tournament for FREE! - Four main draw spots are on the line in the qualifying tournament. In 2010, one of the best matches of the tournament took place in qualifying, as Fritz Wolmarans of South Africa fought off eight match points in a 6-7(9), 7-6(12), 6-3 win over Haydn Lewis of Barbados in 3:31. The 2010 top seed in qualifying, Kevin Anderson, is a seed in the 2011 main draw. In 2007, Mariano Zabaleta qualified into the main draw and advanced to the final, losing to Ivo Karlovic in the title match.

Monday-Friday, April 4-8
Main Draw play - The tournament takes center stage during the week with day sessions beginning at noon and night sessions at 6 p.m.

Monday, April 4
Junior Night - Youth tennis will be celebrated as the USTA's 10-and-Under Tennis takes center stage. Through smaller courts and lighter equipment, tennis is becoming more accessible to younger players. Try out QuickStart tennis during special activities geared to younger players prior to Monday's night session.

Tuesday, April 5
HLTA Ladies Day - The Houston Ladies Tennis Association will host a special clinic and Q&A with Wayne Bryan at 10:30 a.m. The special ticket price includes both the clinic and a ticket to the day session.

Wednesday-Thursday, April 6-7
Tootsies Fashion Show SOLD OUT - A fabulous brunch is served while fashions and accessories from Tootsies are showcased on the runways over the pool at River Oaks Country Club. This popular event once again sold out in just minutes for 2011.

Friday, April 8
USTA Member Appreciation Day and Wheelchair Tennis demonstration - USTA members will receive a gift with proof of their membership from USTA Texas. In addition, a wheelchair tennis demonstration will take place on stadium court at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, April 9
Singles Semifinals and Doubles Final - The singles semifinals will be played back-to-back beginning at 1 p.m., and the doubles final will be held at 6 p.m. Tennis Channel will cover all three matches live.

Sunday, April 10
Singles Final - The singles final will be held at 2 p.m. and broadcast live on Tennis Channel.

All Week
Texas Childrens Ticket Turnback - Patrons with tickets they will not able to use may return them to the River Oaks box office. Those tickets will then be on sale at the box office for face value with the entire purchase price being donated to the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Childrens.

Tickets for select individual sessions at the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship remain available. The Champ Pass and season ticket packages have sold out for the 2011 event.  Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-874-6294.

Gentlemen, find your Seersucker and Ladies, grab your hats because it's almost TENNIS time in Houston!

Defending champion Juan Ignacio Chela is among the ATP World Tour players who are on the initial entry list for the 2011 US Men's Clay Court Championship, joining the previously announced American contingent of James Blake, Mardy Fish, John Isner and Sam Querrey, who all committed early to the tournament.

Twelve countries are represented among the first 20 players to be announced for the 28-player field at the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship which will be played April 4-10 at River Oaks Country Club.

There are six Americans entered into the event. In addition to the four that were previously announced, Robert Kendrick and Houston resident Michael Russell will also be joining the field following their rankings rises after reaching the Memphis quarterfinals last week.

Chela, from Argentina, will be looking to be the first player to repeat as champion since Andy Roddick in 2001 and 2002, the event's first two years in Houston. In 2010, Chela defeated Querrey in the final. In addition to 2010 finalists Chela and Querrey, the field includes 2006 champion Fish and 2008 runner-up Blake.

The initial entry list includes six players who are in the Top 50 of the February 21 ATP World Tour Rankings - Fish (16), Querrey (22), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (23), Chela (31), Isner (32) and Kevin Anderson (40). The last player accepted to the main draw at this initial entry deadline is Russell, who is No. 90 this week.

Below is the initial entry list of 20 players for the 2011 US Men's Clay Court Championship. Two more wild cards will be announced. In addition, four players will advance through qualifying. Two more players will be added based either on results in Miami the week prior to the River Oaks tournament or off the alternate list.

 *Blake is the first of three wild card recipients

“We have a very good field lined up for the US Men’s Clay Court Championship this year,” said tournament director Van Barry. “We look forward to welcoming this international group of players to River Oaks and anticipate a very competitive tournament in April.”

 

Three-time doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan, who claimed their 10^th career major title by winning the Australian Open last month, will headline the doubles field for the US Men's Clay Court Championship. The full field for that event will be announced closer to the tournament.
 
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,.

To Purchace Tickets CLICK HERE  or by calling 713-874-6294.

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!

It's getting heated here at the River Oaks Country Club! The U.S. Men's Clay Court Champoinships is full of drama as day two comes to a close.

We started out the day with 2004 double Olympic Gold Medalist Nicolas Massuplaying his heart out for a win after having to get through the qualies in Miami last week just to lose in the first round. He plays again tomorrow at Noon if you are coming out and want to see a part of tennis history live in person.  Massu made it to the finals here at the USMCC a few years ago only to have to retire due to injure in the 2nd.

Last year's winner Lleyton Hewitt and his double partner won their first match today as they should have since they have played together since they were juniors.

Speaking of junior, up am coming American Donald Young just lost his first clay match of the season to South African Kevin Anderson but had the best attitude knowing that he has plenty of clay ahead of him this year and hopes to break the top 50 soon.

The drama comes in with Taylor Dent finally coming back from a back injury and having to retire in his first round with groin injury. He didn't say if he was headed home to spend time with his new 10 week old sun but did have the most amazing perspective on his game and life in general..."If I got upset every time I was disappointed out there I'd never be happy."

The REAL drama is with American Wayne Odesnik. Once he touched down in Australia for the Aussie Open he was stopped while going through customs and a big ole Texas sized mess of Human Grown Hormone was found in his bag! He is playing here in Houston and the other players are NOT happy with his being here at all! 10 Days ago he pleaded guilty in an Australian court and that kicked off the International Tennis Federation investigation into the subject. The higher ranked players are the ones that are tested frequently, however Odesnik is only ranked 103 therefore has not been caught. Of course now there will be TONS of testing although he's had plenty of time to get the substance out of his system. American Mardy Fishwas due to play Wayne this evening but had to pull out also due to injury. Before his decision to not continue play today, Fish had this to say about Odesnik's being here.

“I’m the kind of guy who’s been around for a long time,” Fish told the Chronicle. “This is my 11^th year. I’ve seen a few guys come and go who have cheated and he seems to be no different. There’s no room for him. There is no gray area. He pleaded guilty. Any points and money he wins here are going to be gone anyway (if the ITF suspends him).

“It would be pretty awkward (for me) to play him here. He’s a pretty good clay court player. What you don’t know now is if any of that is real. It doesn’t seem to be. I’d have a serious beef if I were (Jerzy Janowicz, whom Odesnik defeated in the first round). And, if I were (Odesnik), I’d take myself out.”     

“I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding,” Janowicz said. “I think he shouldn’t play at this point. He for sure should be suspended. It’s a bad feeling when I know he shouldn’t play. It’s very tough to play with that kind of guy.”

Needless to say if you want to speak to Mr. Odesnik you have to go through his lawyer in Florida.  

Wednesday's schedule is looking good if the rain holds off.  Chela is taking on Schwank at Noon in the Stadium followed by Massu and Sweeting. Then the Bryan Brother's take over the Stadium at 3 pm to no doubt beat Damm and Polasek followed Hewitt and whomever wins today out of Niland and Devvarman!

Don't forget the Tootsie's Fashion show for the ladies! Hats, dresses, heals and beautiful men! Ah, it's spring in Houston!