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Home , 2003 Australian Open, Blake Strode, Brian Battistone, Eric Nunez, Lesley Joseph (tennis), Phillip Simmonds

MCALLEN COUNTRY CLUB MEN’S USTA FUTURES TOURNAMENT

MCALLEN, TX – FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 7, 2010 Preview Notes as of February 24, 2010

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW Site: McAllen Country Club Qualifying: Begins Saturday, February 27 McAllen, Texas Main Draw: Begins Tuesday, March 2 (32 singles / 16 doubles) Surface: Hard / Outdoors Prize Money: $15,000 Web site: procircuit.usta.com

Tournament Director: Rudolf Hilpert, (956) 227-0672, [email protected]

Tournament Press Contact: Same as above

USTA Communications: Eric Schuster, (914) 696-7260, [email protected] Kristen Clonan, (914) 697-2262, [email protected]

FORMER TOP 1O PLAYER MARIO ANCIC TO COMPETE AT MCALLEN

The McAllen Country Club Men’s USTA Futures Tennis Tournament, in its seventh year, marks the third of three consecutive men’s Futures events in Texas during the early portion of the 2010 USTA Pro Circuit calendar (preceded by Brownsville and Harlingen).

Among the players scheduled to compete in the main draw are:

Greg Ouellette Age: 23 (5/19/86) Hometown: Ormond Beach, Fla. Current ranking: 466

Ouellette has jumped nearly 200 places in ATP World Tour rankings during latter half of 2009, during which he captured pro title in the Netherlands. He has been a semifinalist at three USTA Pro Circuit events in 2009 ($10,000 Birmingham, Ala., $15,000 McAllen, Texas, and $10,000 Tampa, Fla.) and also won his first USTA Pro Circuit doubles title at $10,000 Vero Beach, Fla. Ouellette was a four-time All-American for the University of Florida and peaked to No. 2 in the ITA Collegiate Rankings his senior year.

Mario Ancic (CRO) Age: 25 (3/30/84) Hometown: Monte Carlo, Monaco Current ranking: 474

Ancic, born in and representing Croatia, reached a world ranking of No. 7 in 2006, the same year he captured his second and third career ATP World Tour singles titles. In his debut in 2002, he defeated in straight sets on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the first round. Mononucleosis and an assortment of injuries over the past three years have contributed to Ancic’s dramatic fall in the rankings. One of the top juniors in world in 2000, he reached the boys’ final at Wimbledon and the (losing to ), and the boys’ semifinals at the US Open (losing again to Roddick). In 2008, Ancic earned a law degree from the University of Split (in Croatia).

Nicholas Monroe Age: 27 (4/12/82) Hometown: Chapel Hill, N.C. Current ranking: 501

Monroe has won 21 ITF Circuit-level titles in his career, including a Futures event in Mexico in 2009. He won his first USTA Pro Circuit title in 2007 at the $10,000 Futures in Rochester, N.Y., and won two USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles in 2008 (Harlingen, Texas, and Yuba City, Calif.). In 2009, he reached the final at the $15,000 event in Brownsville, Texas, in singles and the semifinals at the $50,000 Challenger in Yuba City, Calif., in doubles (with Brian Battistone). Monroe was a two-time All-American at the University of North Carolina (2003-04), reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2004. In 2003, he received the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Regional Sportsmanship and Leadership Award for the Mideast region.

Blake Strode Age: 22 (7/9/87) Hometown: St. Louis Current ranking: 542

A success on the court and in the classroom, Strode in 2009 chose to defer Harvard Law School for a year to pursue his dream of playing professional tennis—with promising early results. Competing as a member of the USTA Summer Collegiate Team, Strode won the $10,000 Futures in Joplin, Mo., for his first professional title. He also reached the final at the Futures event in Pittsburgh and the semifinals of the $10,000 event in Costa Mesa, Calif. Those results followed a successful collegiate career at the University of Arkansas where Strode reached the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament as a senior to earn All-America honors. A product of his local NJTL program in Ferguson, Mo., and a two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Strode was named the national recipient of the 2009 ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership & Sportsmanship.

Eric Nunez Age: 27 (4/9/82) Hometown: Aventura, Fla. Current ranking: 543

Nunez owns five career USTA Pro Circuit titles (three singles). In 2009, he advanced to the final round of qualifying at the ATP World Tour event in San Jose and the quarterfinals at USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Yuba City, Calif. He played a mix of USTA Pro Circuit, South America and Asia Futures and Challengers in 2008, reaching a singles final in Brazil and winning the doubles title at a Challenger in Puebla, Mexico, with . Nunez cracked the Top 200 in the ATP World Tour rankings in 2006.

Among the players scheduled to compete in the qualifying draw are:

Alexander Domijan Age: 18 (9/3/91) Hometown: Wesley Chapel, Fla. Current ranking: 693

The 6-foot-7 Domijan was dominant on the ITF World Junior Circuit in 2008, putting together a 16-match winning streak that saw him win the Pan-American Championships and the Eddie Herr International before losing in the semifinals of the Dunlop . He continued that momentum into 2009, spending much of the year as the No. 1 player in the USTA Boys’ 18s National Standings and competing for the all-junior New York Buzz during the 2009 World TeamTennis season. On the USTA Pro Circuit, Domijan reached his second professional singles final at the Futures in Godfrey, Ill. He reached the final of the Futures in Rochester, N.Y., and the semifinals at the $15,000 event in Honolulu in 2008.

Phillip Simmonds Age: 23 (5/18/86) Hometown: Reston, Va. Current ranking: 818

Simmonds ascended to a career-best No. 219 in 2006, when he reached the quarterfinals at the $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Vancouver, B.C., and received a wild card into the US Open. In doubles in early 2009, he reached the final at a Futures event in Great Britain and the semifinals at $50,000 Dallas, both with . As a junior, he won the doubles title at the Junior Championships.

MCALLEN PAST CHAMPIONS

Singles Year Champion Runner-up 2009 (USA) Andrey Kumantsov (RUS) 2008 (RUS) (USA) 2007 (CAN) Wesley Whitehouse (RSA) 2006 Benedikt Dorsch (GER) Johan Brunstrom (SWE) 2005 (AUS) Michael Russell (USA) 2004 Nicolas Todero (ARG) Kepler Orellana (VEN)

Doubles Year Champions 2009 Ruben Gonzales (USA) / Andreas Siljestrom (SWE) 2008 Ricardas Berankis (LTU) / Siahei Betau (BLR) 2007 Patrick Briaud ((USA) / Lesley Joseph (USA) 2006 Pierre-Ludovic Duclos (CAN) / Wesley Whitehouse (RSA) 2005 (USA) / (USA) 2004 Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Nicolas Todero (ARG)

Tournament Points and Prize Money for $15,000 Men’s Level

Winner Runner-Up Semifinalist Quarterfinalist Round 16 Round 32 Singles Prize Money $1,950 $1,350 $720 $435 $300 $176.50 Singles ATP Ranking Points 27 15 8 3 1 -- Doubles Prize Money (team) $945 $495 $390 $270 -- --

The USTA Pro Circuit With more than 90 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed on the USTA Pro Circuit for approximately $3.2 million in prize money and valuable ATP and WTA Tour ranking points. , Andy Roddick, , Melanie Oudin, Andy Murray, Jelena Jankovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are among today’s top stars that began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA Pro Circuit is world-class tennis administered on the local level and played on local tennis courts as part of the fabric of communities nationwide -- an opportunity for current and new fans to experience the excitement and intensity of the professional game in their neighborhood.