FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 7 MEDIA NOTES Sunday, April 16, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com http://www.mensclaycourt.com/ Joshua Rey:
[email protected] @ATPWorldTour @mensclaycourt Press Room: +1 713-874-6356 facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/mensclaycourt JOHNSON EYES SECOND ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE, BELLUCCI LOOKS FOR FIFTH FINAL PREVIEW: The final of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Sunday features No. 4 seed Steve Johnson and No. 8 seed Thomaz Bellucci. Both players are appearing in their first final in Houston and first ATP World Tour title match in 2017. In their previous meeting in the 2R of the 2016 Australian Open, Johnson defeated Bellucci 63 62 62. Johnson is appearing in his third career ATP World Tour final (1-1). He won his maiden ATP title in Nottingham on grass last June (d. Cuevas) after reaching his first final in Vienna in October 2015 (l. to Ferrer). The 27-year-old Californian has served well to reach the final, winning 91% of service games (32 of 35). This is the ninth time in the 10 years (except 2014) since the U.S. Clay Courts moved to River Oaks, an American will be contesting the final. Johnson will also try to keep Americans perfect in ATP World Tour finals this season (4-0) and he’s looking to become the fourth different American champion, joining Jack Sock (Auckland, Delray Beach), Ryan Harrison (Memphis) and Sam Querrey (Acapulco).