Dish-Houston

Plenty of off-court events are planned during the 2013 US Men's Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club April 8-14. While four members of the Top 20 of the ATP World Tour Rankings will headline the action on-court, events ranging from a Wound Warrior exhibition to fashion shows will be among the highlights away from the courts.

Here's a look at the event schedule for the week:

Monday, April 8
Junior Night - Youth tennis will be celebrated on Junior Night, which will include a Q&A session with an ATP World Tour player for the participating kids before the night session of matches begins.

Tuesday, April 9
HLTA Ladies Day - The Houston Ladies Tennis Association will host a special clinic and Q&A with Wayne Bryan and ATP World Tour players at 10:30 a.m. The special ticket price includes both the clinic and a ticket to the day session.

Tuesday and Thursday, April 9 and 11
Corona Q&A - An ATP World Tour player will visit the Corona Beach House during happy hour for a Q&A session with fans.

Wednesday, April 10
Armed Forces Appreciation Night - Several events will take place to honor members of the military, including a special Wounded Warrior tennis exhibition before the night session begins. A military color guard will also help open the night session.

Wednesday-Thursday, April 10-11
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 2013.

Friday, April 12
USTA Member Appreciation Day - USTA members will receive a gift with proof of their membership from USTA Texas. There will also be a reception held for USTA members before the start of the day session on Friday.

On Court
Opening rounds of the qualifying tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7, and these matches are FREE to the public. Several main draw players will also be practicing at the courts over these days, so it's a great chance for fans to see a lot of tennis action! Monday-Friday, day sessions will begin at Noon, and night sessions will start at 6 p.m. On Saturday, April 13, 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. Sunday's singles final will begin at 2 p.m.

The main draw for the tournament will be made late in the afternoon on Friday, April 5. The projected top four seeds, who will all have first round byes, are projected to be No. 12 Nicolas Almagro, No. 14 and defending champion Juan Monaco, No. 18 Tommy Haas and No. 20 and the top-ranked American Sam Querrey. Other players in the main draw who will play Monday or Tuesday include two-time Grand Slam champion from Australia Lleyton Hewitt, Spain's Fernando Verdasco, France's Nicolas Almagro, and AmericansJohn Isner, James Blake, Ryan Harrison and Houston resident Michael Russell.

In addition to these singles players, four-time doubles champion the Bryan Brothers will return to River Oaks. The twin brothers Bob and Mike are the World No. 1 doubles team. They own the record for Grand Slam titles with 13 together as well as total career titles together with 86. 

Information on these special events and tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713-874-6294. Several sessions are very close to selling out, however the Ticket Turnback program will return for fans to donate tickets for sessions they cannot attend to the box office so they can be resold with the purchase price being donated to charity. A new beneficiary for the Ticket Turnback program will be announced before the tournament.