Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship: Day 7 Media Notes

Home , Alexander Waske, Brian Baker (tennis), Ernesto Escobedo, Fernando Meligeni, Fernando Verdasco, Jared Donaldson

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). Last season Americans were 2-7 in finals on the ATP World Tour.

Bellucci has won all four of his matches in three sets to reach his eighth career ATP World Tour final (4-3), the first in the U.S. All four of his titles have come on clay, three in Switzerland and one in Chile. He is facing his fourth American in the tournament (Tiafoe in 1R, Querrey in QF and Escobedo in SF) The 29-year-old Brazilian is the first player to make the final in his Houston debut since Nicolas Almagro in 2013 and the last winner in his debut at River Oaks was Marcel Granollers in 2008. Bellucci is the first Brazilian to reach the U.S. Clay Courts final since Fernando Meligeni won the 1996 title (d. Wilander) when it was held in Pinehurst, N.C..

Both Bellucci and Johnson arrived late into Houston following Davis Cup ties last weekend. Bellucci was 2-0 in singles as Brazil won 5-0 at Ecuador in an Americas tie, while Johnson was part of the winning US doubles team (w/Sock) in a 3-2 World Group quarterfinal loss to Australia in Brisbane.

 INFOSYS ATP SCORES & STATS: Tournament statistics entering Sunday’s championship match Statistic Steve Johnson Thomaz Bellucci Aces 28 29

1st-Serve Percentage 68% (147 of 217) 57% (201 of 352) 1st-Serve Points Won 80% (118 of 147) 67% (135 of 201) 2nd-Serve Points Won 53% (37 of 70) 59% (89 of 151) Service Games Won 91% (32 of 35) 79% (45 of 57) Break Points Saved 63% (5 of 8) 45% (10 of 22)

1st-Serve Return Points Won 28% (42 of 148) 32% (73 of 226)

2nd-Serve Return Points Won 56% (45 of 80) 52% (71 of 136) Return Games Won 24% (8 of 34) 27% (15 of 56) Break Points Converted 36% (8 of 22) 41% (15 of 37)

 EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Champion Finalist Singles Ranking Points 250 150 Singles Prize Money $95,495 $50,295

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 7 – Sunday, April 16, 2017 Page 2 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 7 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS –

[4] Steve Johnson (USA) vs [8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) Johnson Leads 1-0 16 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Steve Johnson 6-3 6-2 6-2

Johnson 2017 Summary SF: Auckland (l Sock); QF(3): Memphis (l Kukushkin); Delray Beach (l Sock); Acapulco (W/O vs Cilic) YTD W-L: 14-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 (27) Emirates ATP Ranking: 29 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 5-4 Finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: No. 4 American is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour final on clay and after a 1R bye, opened with 76 64 win over Brown and followed with a 62 64 victory over [5] Verdasco and top seed Sock 46 64 63 in SF. Prior to this year, best result was 2R in 2014-15. Has held serve 32 of 35 games (91%) and winning 80% of 1st serve pts. • Last week in Davis Cup QF tie in Brisbane (w/Sock), won five-setter over Groth/Peers • Appearing in his third career ATP World Tour final (1-1). Won maiden ATP title on grass in Nottingham last June (d. Cuevas). Reached first ATP final in October 2015 in Vienna (l. to Ferrer) • Will improve from No. 29 to No. 25 (win or lose) in next week’s Emirates ATP Rankings • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached 3R in Indian Wells (bye, d. Anderson in third set TB in 2R, lost to eventual champion Federer in two TBs) and 2R in Miami (bye, l. to Mahut in three sets) • Best result of season is SF in Auckland where he beat Isner 76 in 3rd, then fell to Olympic bronze medal partner and eventual champion Sock • Reached QFs at Memphis (l. to Kukushkin), Delray Beach (l. to Sock) and Acapulco (d. Isner in 1R, w/o vs Cilic). Did not drop a set en route to Memphis doubles final with 1st-time partner Harrison (l. to Baker/Mektic) • Beat Bellier in singles and Bossel/Laaksonen in doubles w/Sock to help USA defeat SUI 5-0 in Davis Cup 1R • Conceded walkover in Acapulco QF vs Cilic due to right foot injury

Bellucci 2017 Summary SF: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 10-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 (29) Emirates ATP Ranking: 65 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-0 (Finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: In Houston debut, top Brazilian has posted wins over #NextGenATP star Tiafoe 75 16 62 in 1R, [Q] M. Gonzalez 26 76 62 in 2R, [3] Querrey 64 36 63 in QF and [WC} Escobedo 57 64 62 in SF. his week has won 15 of 56 return games (27%) and has been broken 12 times (45 of 57 games held, 79%), saving 10 of 22 BPs (45%). Trying to become first left-hander to win title at River Oaks since Verdasco in 2014 • Appearing in eighth career ATP World Tour final (4-3), first since runner-up in Quito last year (l. to Estrella Burgos). His last title came in Geneva in May 2015 (d. Sousa). Three of his four titles have come on Swiss clay along with 2009 and 2012 Gstaad. His other title came in 2010 Santiago • Will improve from No. 65 to around No. 52 (and to No. 42 if wins title) in next week’s Emirates ATP Rankings • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, lost to Herbert in three sets in 1R at Indian Wells and 2R in Miami (d. Robert, l. to Isner) with a 2R in between at Irving, USA Challenger (d. Rosol, l. to Bedene) • Prior to Houston, won both Davis Cup matches vs. Ecuador • Snapped 22-match losing streak vs Top 10 opponents by beating No. 5 Nishikori at Rio de Janeiro (l. to Monteiro in 2R) in February • Fell in 1R at Sydney (l. to Mahut), Australian Open (l. to Tomic) and Sao Paulo (l. to Schwartzman)

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 7 – Sunday, April 16, 2017 Page 3 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP

[4] Julio Peralta (CHI)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs First Meeting [WC] Dustin Brown (GER)/Frances Tiafoe (USA)

The doubles championship on Sunday features the South American duo of No. 4 seeds Julio Peralta of Chile and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina against the wild card duo playing together for the first time of Dustin Brown of Germany and Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. This is the 11th straight year with at least one American in the US Clay Courts doubles final.

• Peralta/Zeballos have dropped only one set en route to the final as they rallied to beat top seeds Bryan/Bryan 36 64 10-8 in the semi-finals • Peralta and Zeballos are playing in their fifth ATP World Tour final (3-1) and their second of 2017 (Quito). They won three ATP titles together in 2016 (Sao Paulo, Gstaad, Metz) and have teamed up for seven Challenger titles. • Peralta has a 3-1 career record in ATP World Tour finals, all coming with Zeballos. He also has 10 Challenger titles • Zeballos has a 6-4 career record in ATP World Tour finals and last August he captured his first title in the U.S. in Atlanta (w/Molteni)

• Brown/Tiafoe won their first two matches in a Match Tie-Break, defeating No. 2 seeds Cabal/Farah 63 67 10-5 in 1R and Dutra Silva/Shamasdin 46 61 10-5 in QF. In SFs, they beat Anderson/Querrey 64 64 • Brown has a 2-3 career record in ATP World Tour finals and his titles have come in 2010 Metz and 2012 Casablanca. He also reached two finals in 2012 and his last final came in 2013 Casablanca. He also has won 17 Challenger titles but none since 2015 • Tiafoe is appearing in his first ATP World Tour doubles final. Coming into Houston, the 19-year-old Maryland native had played in only four ATP doubles matches (1-3). His only previous professional doubles final came at a Futures event in Sunrise, Fla., in 2014..

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 6 MEDIA NOTES Saturday, April 15, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

AMERICAN TRIO ESCOBEDO, JOHNSON, SOCK JOINED BY BELLUCCI IN SEMIS

SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW: For the first time in 15 years there are three Americans in the semi-finals of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The trio of top seed and 2015 champion Jack Sock, No. 4 seed Steve Johnson and #NextGenATP wild card Ernesto Escobedo are joined by No. 8 seed Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the semi-finals. Since the tournament moved to Houston in 2001, there’s been at least one American in the semi-finals every year.

This is the fifth time three Americans have reached the U.S. Clay semi-finals in the Open Era (since 1968) and the first time since 2002 when Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras were among the final four. This is also the first time three Americans have reached the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour tournament since July 2012 in Newport (Ryan Harrison, John Isner and Rajeev Ram).

The opening match on Center Court is between two players making their River Oaks debut this year as Bellucci and Escobedo meet for the first time. All three of Bellucci's wins this week have come in three sets and he’s the first semi-finalist here to have won three straight three-setters since Sebastien Grosjean in 2005.The 29-year-old Brazilian is the oldest of the semi-finalists and most experienced on clay. All four of his ATP World Tour titles have come on clay. The 20-year-old Escobedo is the youngest to reach the semi-finals in Houston since Andy Roddick (20) in 2003. Escobedo is playing in his first main draw clay court ATP World Tour tournament and ninth overall. He posted the biggest win of his young career over No. 23-ranked John Isner in three tie-breaks in 3h, 3m on Friday. He has only been broken three times in 42 service games this week (holding 93%) and saving 12 of 15 break points (80%). The #NextGenATP star came in a career-high No. 91 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and is projected to move to No. 72. If he reaches the final, he would move to around No. 65. Nearly a year ago he was ranked No. 335 on April 24, 2016. His best pro result on clay was a runner-up at the Sao Paulo Challenger last April.

In the next match on, Sock takes on his Davis Cup partner Johnson for the sixth time in ATP World Tour level play. Sock holds a 4-1 head-to-head advantage (1-0 on clay), including two wins en route to ATP World Tour titles in the first two months of this year, in Auckland SF and Delray Beach QF. Last weekend in a Davis Cup QF tie in Brisbane they teamed up to win a five-set match over Groth/Peers. And in last summer’s Rio Olympic Games, they collected a bronze medal. Sock is appearing in the semi- finals for the third straight year and he’s trying to become the first player to reach three (or more) consecutive finals in Houston since fellow Nebraska native Roddick advanced to five in a row from 2001- 05 (won titles in 2001-02, 2005). Sock earned his ATP World Tour-leading 20th match win of the season (20-5) on Friday. Johnson is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour clay court semi-final and he has held serve 19 of 20 games. He defeated 2014 champion Fernando Verdasco on Friday. Johnson is trying to reach 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).

DOUBLES SEMI-FINALS: After the singles semi-finals are completed, the doubles semi-finals will follow led by top seeds and six-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan. They are the second match on and they will take on No. 4 seeds Julio Peralta of Chile and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina. In the first semi-final, Kevin Anderson and Sam Querrey, teaming up this week for the first time since 2012, play the wild card duo of Dustin Brown and #NextGenATP star Frances Tiafoe.

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 6 – Saturday, April 15, 2017 Page 2 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 6 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

[8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs [WC] Ernesto Escobedo (USA) First Meeting

Bellucci 2017 Summary SF: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 9-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 (29) Emirates ATP Ranking: 65 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-0 (Semi-finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: In Houston debut, top Brazilian has posted wins over #NextGenATP star Tiafoe 75 16 62 in 1R, [Q] M. Gonzalez 26 76 62 in 2R and [3] Querrey 64 36 63 in QF. He is first to reach SFs winning three three-setters since Sebastien Grosjean in 2005. This week has won 11 of 41 return games (27%), best among SFs, converting 11 of 26 BPs (42%). Has been broken 10 times (32 of 42 games held, 76%), saving 8 of 18 BPs (44%). Trying to become first left-hander to win title at River Oaks since Verdasco in 2014 • Appearing in second SF of season, first since February in Quito where he lost there for 3rd straight year to eventual champion Estrella Burgos • Trying to reach eighth career ATP World Tour final (4-3), first since runner-up in Quito last year (l. to Estrella Burgos). His last title came in Geneva in May 2015 (d. Sousa). Three of his four titles have come on Swiss clay along with 2009 and 2012 Gstaad. His other title came in 2010 Santiago • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, lost to Herbert in three sets in 1R at Indian Wells and 2R in Miami (d. Robert, l. to Isner) with a 2R in between at Irving, USA Challenger (d. Rosol, l. to Bedene) • Prior to Houston, won both Davis Cup matches vs. Ecuador • Snapped 22-match losing streak vs Top 10 opponents by beating No. 5 Nishikori at Rio de Janeiro (l. to Monteiro in 2R) in February • Fell in 1R at Sydney (l. to Mahut), Australian Open (l. to Tomic) and Sao Paulo (l. to Schwartzman)

Escobedo 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 5-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 4, 1996 (20) Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-0 (Semi-finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: In River Oaks debut, #NextGenATP wild card opened with 63 63 win over [Q] Sandgren in 1R and followed with 46 64 64 victory over Monteiro in 2R. In QF survived 35 aces by 2013 champion and No. 23-ranked Isner to post biggest career win, 76 67 76 in 3h, 3m. The 20-year-old Californian is youngest to reach SFs in Houston since Roddick (20) in 2003. Has held 39 of 42 service games (93%), saving 12 of 15 BPs (80%) • Comes in this week a career-high No. 91 in Emirates ATP Rankings and will move to around No. 72 next week and around No.65 if he reaches his first ATP World Tour final • At ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, lost in 1R qualifying to Gojowczyk 63 63 and in Miami qualified and beat No. 43 Evans in 1R (l. to Verdasco 76 75). Then lost in 2R at Leon, MEX Challenger • Qualified at Brisbane (l. to Edmund 76 76 in 1R) and Australian Open (d. Medvedev, l. to Ferrer in 2R) • Won #NextGenATP showdown with Kozlov to reach Acapulco 2R as WC (l. to Johnson)

AMERICANS IN TOP 100: Escobedo, who is one of nine Americans in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings, is joined by countrymen Jack Sock and Steve Johnson in the semi-finals: No. 16 Jack Sock No. 42 Donald Young No. 23 John Isner No. 50 Ryan Harrison No. 25 Sam Querrey No. 73 Jared Donaldson No. 29 Steve Johnson No. 89 Frances Tiafoe No. 91 Ernesto Escobedo

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 6 – Saturday, April 15, 2017 Page 3 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

[1] Jack Sock (USA) vs [4] Steve Johnson (USA) Sock Leads 4-1 12 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Jack Sock 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 14 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 Jack Sock 7-5 6-4 6-2 15 Washington (U.S.A.) Hard QF Steve Johnson 7-6(5) 6-1 17 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard SF Jack Sock 6-4 6-3 17 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard QF Jack Sock 6-4 7-6(4) Other meetings: 11 Charlottesville CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Steve Johnson 7-6(5) 6-4 12 Tiburon CH (U.S.A.) Hard SF Jack Sock 6-4 7-6(4) 13 Sarasota CH (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Steve Johnson 7-6(7) 2-2 ret

Sock 2017 Summary W(2):: Auckland (d Sousa); Delray Beach (d Raonic); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal) YTD W-L: 20-5 YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: September 24, 1992 (24) Emirates ATP Ranking: 16 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 13-3 (Champion 2015)

• Tournament Note: Top American, who is seeded No. 1 this week for first time, is appearing in his third straight SF. Won first ATP World Tour title in 2015 (d. Querrey) and last year fell short of repeat (l. to Monaco in three sets). In first two matches, defeated Haas 64 36 63 and followed with 76 16 64 victory over [6] Lopez. Has held serve 22 of 28 games (79%), saving seven of 13 BPs (54%). Has won six of 29 return games (21%) • Has most match wins on ATP World Tour this season and comes in with a 20-5 record. Also 9-1 in decisive- set matches. Last year didn’t win his 20th match of year until third week of July in Washington (QF) • Trying to reach third ATP World Tour final of season (2-0) and eighth of career (3-4) • Captured 2nd and 3rd ATP singles titles, respectively, at Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (w/o vs Raonic). Defeated Olympic bronze medal teammate Johnson in Auckland SF and Delray Beach QF • Last week in Davis Cup QF in Brisbane, l. to Thompson in four sets and next day won five-setter (w/Johnson) over Groth/Peers (did not play reverse singles) • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached first singles SF in Indian Wells (d. No. 13 Dimitrov in 3R, No. 5 Nishikori in QF, l. to eventual champion Federer). His win over Nishikori was first career Top 5 victory. Then followed with QF in Miami (l. to No. 7 Nadal). Reached doubles final (w/Monroe), l. to Kubot/Melo • Achieved career-high No. 15 in Emirates ATP Rankings on April 3 after Miami • Advanced to Australian Open 3R for 1st time (d. Herbert and Khachanov, l. to Tsonga) • Clinched USA’s 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Chiudinelli, w/Johnson d. Bossel/Laaksonen

• Tournament Note: No. 4 American is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour SF on clay and after a 1R bye, opened with 76 64 win over Brown and followed with a 62 64 victory over [5] Verdasco. Prior to this year, best result was 2R in 2014-15. Has held serve 19 of 20 games (95%) and winning 82% of 1st serve pts. • Last week in Davis Cup QF tie in Brisbane (w/Sock), won five-setter over Groth/Peers • Trying to reach third career ATP World Tour final (1-1). Won maiden ATP title on grass in Nottingham last June (d. Cuevas). Reached first ATP final in October 2015 in Vienna (l. to Ferrer) • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached 3R in Indian Wells (bye, d. Anderson in third set TB in 2R, lost to eventual champion Federer in two TBs) and 2R in Miami (bye, l. to Mahut in three sets) • Best result of season is SF in Auckland where he beat Isner 76 in 3rd, then fell to Olympic bronze medal partner and eventual champion Sock • Reached QFs at Memphis (l. to Kukushkin), Delray Beach (l. to Sock) and Acapulco (d. Isner in 1R, w/o vs Cilic). Did not drop a set en route to Memphis doubles final with 1st-time partner Harrison (l. to Baker/Mektic) • Beat Bellier in singles and Bossel/Laaksonen in doubles w/Sock to help USA defeat SUI 5-0 in Davis Cup 1R • Conceded walkover in Acapulco QF vs Cilic due to right foot injury Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 6 – Saturday, April 15, 2017 Page 4 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS

Jack Sock (USA) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) First Meeting

Jack Sock (USA) vs Ernesto Escobedo (USA) First Meeting

Steve Johnson (USA) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) Johnson Leads 1-0 16 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Steve Johnson 6-3 6-2 6-2

Steve Johnson (USA) vs Ernesto Escobedo (USA) Johnson Leads 1-0 17 Acapulco (Mexico) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 7-6(5) 6-3

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 5 MEDIA NOTES Friday, April 14, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

FIVE AMERICANS, SPANISH DUO HEADLINE QUARTER-FINALS

DAY 5 PREVIEW: For the first time since 2002 there are five Americans in the quarter-finals in Houston. The top four Americans in the Emirates ATP Rankings - Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson along with #NextGenATP wild card Ernesto Escobedo are in the quarter-finals on Friday at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The five Americans in the quarter-finals in 2002 were: Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras, James Blake and Todd Martin.

This is also the first ATP World Tour tournament five Americans reached the quarter-finals since February 2015 in Memphis with Isner, Johnson, Querrey, Austin Krajicek and Donald Young.

In the opening match on Center Court, Isner takes on the 20-year-old Escobedo for the first time. Isner is making his sixth quarter-final (or better) showing in 10th consecutive Houston appearance. He is 3-2 in QF matches, winning the title in 2013 (d. Almagro), reaching the final in 2012 (l. to Monaco) and the semi-finals last year (l. to Sock). The No. 2 American is appearing in his third ATP World Tour QF of the season (Auckland, Memphis) and he’s trying to reach his first semi-final. Escobedo, who is the youngest player in the quarter-finals, is playing in his first career main draw ATP World Tour tournament on clay. Prior to coming into Houston, he had a 5-6 record on clay on the ATP Challenger Tour with his his best result a runner-up at Sao Paulo on April 24, 2016 when he was ranked No. 335. Almost one year later, Escobedo is ranked a career-high No. 91 this week.

In the next match on, Querrey brings a 2-0 head-to-head record against No. 8 seed Thomaz Bellucci. The No. 3 American won both previous meetings in straight sets, in a 2013 1R Davis Cup tie in Jacksonville, Fla. and in the 2R at Wimbledon last year. Querrey, who reached the final at River Oaks in 2010 (l. to Chela) and 2015 (l. to Sock), also reached the semi-finals in 2014 (W/O vs. Almagro). Querrey, who won his ninth career ATP World Tour title in Acapulco last month (d. Nadal), is playing in his third quarter-final of the season. Bellucci, who is the top Brazilian at No. 65 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is making his first appearance at River Oaks. He is trying to reach his second semi-final of the year. In February, he advanced to the semis in Quito (l. to eventual champion Estrella Burgos).

In the third match on, Johnson, looks for his first win against No. 5 seed and 2014 champion Fernando Verdasco, who has won the previous four matches, including here at River Oaks in 2013 (1R) and 2014 (2R). The Spaniard won both of last year’s meetings in the 1R at Roland Garros and 3R in Winston- Salem, in straight sets. Johnson is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour clay court quarter-final and his best clay result is the 3R at Roland Garros in 2015. Verdasco has reached the quarter-finals with a pair of straight-set wins and the 33-year-old Spaniard is trying to reach his third semi-final of the year. He has an 11-3 career record at the U.S. Clay Courts.

In the evening session, Sock and No. 6 seed Feliciano Lopez square off for the third time (tied 1-1), the first on clay. They split their previous two hard court meetings with Lopez winning 64 63 in the QFs of 2013 Memphis before Sock came back with a three-set win last October in the 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai. Sock comes in with a 19-5 record on the season and he’s trying to become the first 20-match winner on the ATP World Tour in 2017. Sock is tied with Roger Fedeer (19-1) and Rafael Nadal (19-5) for most match wins this season. The 2015 champion has a 12-3 record at River Oaks. The 35-year-old Lopez is the oldest player remaining and he is appearing in his first quarter-final of the season. He is attempting to reach his third semi-final at River Oaks, having advanced to the semis in 2012 (l. to Isner) and last year (l. to Monaco).

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 5 – Friday, April 14, 2017 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 5 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

[WC] Ernesto Escobedo (USA) vs [2] John Isner (USA) First Meeting

Escobedo FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: YTD W-L: 4-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 4, 1996 (20) Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-0 (Quarter-finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: In River Oaks debut, #NextGenATP wild card opened with 63 63 win over [Q] Sandgren and followed with 46 64 64 victory over Monteiro. The 20-year-old Californian is youngest player remaining. When asked if he thought he would reach his first ATP World Tour QF on clay, he replied, “I love the clay but never would have thought my first quarter-final would be on it.” • Comes in this week a career-high No. 91 in Emirates ATP Rankings and will move to around No. 84 next week and around No. 72 if he reaches his first ATP World Tour semi-final • At ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, lost in 1R qualifying to Gojowczyk 63 63 and in Miami qualified and beat No. 43 Evans in 1R (l. to Verdasco 76 75). Then lost in 2R at Leon, MEX Challenger • Qualified at Brisbane (l. to Edmund 76 76 in 1R) and Australian Open (d. Medvedev, l. to Ferrer in 2R) • Won #NextGenATP showdown with Kozlov to reach Acapulco 2R as WC (l. to Johnson)

AMERICANS IN TOP 100: Escobedo is one of nine Americans in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 16 Jack Sock No. 42 Donald Young No. 23 John Isner No. 50 Ryan Harrison No. 25 Sam Querrey No. 73 Jared Donaldson No. 29 Steve Johnson No. 89 Frances Tiafoe No. 91 Ernesto Escobedo

Isner 2017 Summary QF(2): Auckland (l Johnson); Memphis (l Young) YTD W-L: 8-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 10 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 (31) Emirates ATP Ranking: 23 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 14-8 (Champion - 2013)

• Tournament Note: No. 2 American (behind No. 16 Sock) fired 20 aces and opened with 67 76 63 win over [Q] L. Mayer. He is making his 10th consecutive appearance and playing in his sixth quarter-final. Won 2013 title (d. No. 12 Almagro) and reached final in 2012 (l. to Monaco). Also SF last year (l. to Sock) • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached 3R in Indian Wells (bye, d. Kukushkin, l. to Monfils) and in Miami (bye, d. Bellucci, l. to A. Zverev in 3 TBs after holding 3 MPs) • Last week in Davis Cup QF in Brisbane, lost to Kyrgios 75 76 76 and beat Groth in dead rubber • Reached QFs at Auckland (d. Jaziri after saving 1 MP, l. to Johnson 76 in 3rd) and Memphis (l. to Young 76 in 3rd) • Squandered 2-set lead and 2 MPs vs M. Zverev in Australian Open 2R -- 6th loss after holding MP since Feb. 2016. Fell to 7-16 lifetime in 5-setters with 5 losses from 2 sets up and 5 straight losses when 5th set extends past 76 • Advanced to Acapulco doubles final w/F. Lopez (d. Marach/Martin 16-14 in Match TB, l. to J. Murray/Soares) • Helped USA to 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Laaksonen in 4 sets)

MOST AMERICAN NO. 1 FINISHES: Last season Isner finished as the No. 1 American for the fifth consecutive year. Here is a look at the No. 1 Americans in the year-end Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973): No. (In a Row) Jimmy Connors 9 (8) John Isner 5 (5) Andy Roddick 8 (8) Andre Agassi 5 (2) John McEnroe 7 (6) Jim Courier 2 (2) Pete Sampras 7 (6) Mardy Fish 1 (1) Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 5 – Friday, April 14, 2017 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

[8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs [3] Sam Querrey (USA) Querrey Leads 2-0 13 USA vs. BRA WG 1st Rd. (Jacksonville FL) Hard RR Sam Querrey 6-3 6-4 6-4 16 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Sam Querrey 6-4 6-3 6-2

Bellucci 2017 Summary SF: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 8-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 (29) Emirates ATP Ranking: 65 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-0 (Quarter-finalist 2017)

• Tournament Note: In Houston debut, top Brazilian has posted wins over #NextGenATP star Tiafoe 75 16 62 in 1R and 26 76 62 over [Q] M. Gonzalez • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, lost to Herbert in three sets in 1R at Indian Wells and 2R in Miami (d. Robert, l. to Isner) with a 2R in between at Irving, USA Challenger (d. Rosol, l. to Bedene) • Prior to Houston, won both Davis Cup matches vs. Ecuador • Advanced to SF at Quito, losing there for 3rd straight year to eventual champion Estrella Burgos • Snapped 22-match losing streak vs Top 10 opponents by beating No. 5 Nishikori at Rio de Janeiro (l. to Monteiro in 2R) • Fell in 1R at Sydney (l. to Mahut), Australian Open (l. to Tomic) and Sao Paulo (l. to Schwartzman)

Querrey 2017 Summary W: Acapulco (d Nadal); QF: Delray Beach (l del Potro) YTD W-L: 12-7 YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 9 Date of Birth: October 7, 1987 (29) Emirates ATP Ranking: 25 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 14-7 (Finalist 2010, 2015)

• Tournament Note: No. 3 American (behind No. 16 Sock, No. 23 Isner) opened with a 64 64 win over Zeballos. A two-time finalist in 2010 (l. to Chela in three sets) and 2015 (l. to Sock in two TBs). Also SF in 2014 (W/O vs. Almagro). Has played at River Oaks in nine of last 11 years (except 2009, 2013). Three wins from 300 in career • Last week played in Davis Cup QF tie in Brisbane and lost to Kyrgios in straight sets in fourth match • In first two ATP Masters 1000 events, lost in 2R in Indian Wells (bye, l. to Young) and 3R in Miami (bye, d. Robredo, l. to Bautista Agut in three sets). Also reached doubles SF in Indian Wells (w/Muller) • Ended 7-match losing streak vs Top 20 opponents by beating No. 11 Goffin, No. 9 Thiem, No. 17 Kyrgios and No. 6 Nadal to win Acapulco title. Snapped Nadal’s 14-match and 28-set tournament winning streaks, as well as his 16-match win streak vs Americans • Fell in Delray Beach QF to del Potro as defending champion • Defeated wild cards Halys and de Minaur to reach Australian Open 3R for 5th time (l. to No. 1 Murray) • Advanced to Brisbane doubles final in team debut w/Muller (d. Nishikori/Thiem in QF, l. to Kokkinakis/Thompson) • In 1st match w/Young since 2005, upset defending champs J. Murray/Soares at AO (l. to Bolt/Mousley in 3R) • Helped USA to 5-0 sweep Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Bossel in dead rubber)

[4] Steve Johnson (USA) vs [5] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Verdasco Leads 4-0 13 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5) 6-2 14 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 6-0 4-6 6-3 16 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Fernando Verdasco 7-5 6-4 7-5 16 Winston-Salem (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 7-6(7)

Johnson 2017 Summary SF: Auckland (l Sock); QF(3): Memphis (l Kukushkin); Delray Beach (l Sock); Acapulco (W/O vs Cilic) YTD W-L: 13-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 (27) Emirates ATP Ranking: 29 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-4 (Quarter-finalist 2017) Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 5 – Friday, April 14, 2017 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

• Tournament Note: No. 4 American is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour QF on clay and after a 1R bye, opened with 76 64 win over Brown • Last week in Davis Cup QF tie in Brisbane (w/Sock), won five-setter over Groth/Peers • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached 3R in Indian Wells (bye, d. Anderson in third set TB in 2R, lost to eventual champion Federer in two TBs) and 2R in Miami (bye, l. to Mahut in three sets) • Best result of season is SF in Auckland where he beat Isner 76 in 3rd, then fell to Olympic bronze medal partner and eventual champion Sock • Reached QFs at Memphis (l. to Kukushkin), Delray Beach (l. to Sock) and Acapulco (d. Isner in 1R, w/o vs Cilic) • Did not drop a set en route to Memphis doubles final with 1st-time partner Harrison (l. to Baker/Mektic) • Beat Bellier in singles and Bossel/Laaksonen in doubles w/Sock to help USA defeat SUI 5-0 in Davis Cup 1R • Conceded walkover in Acapulco QF vs Cilic due to right foot injury

Verdasco 2017 Summary F: Dubai (l Murray); SF: Doha (l Djokovic) YTD W-L: 12-7 YTD Titles: 0 /Career Titles: 7 Date of Birth: November 15, 1983 (33) Emirates ATP Ranking: 31 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 11-3 (Champion 2014)

• Tournament Note: Madrid native and 2014 champion (d. Almagro) has reached third QF of season with a 76 76 win over Anderson and 76 61 victory over Kicker • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached 3R in Indian Wells (bye, d. Herbert, l. to No. 6 Nadal) and followed with 3R in Miami (bye, d. Escobedo, l .to No. 4 Nishikori in three sets) Beat Bautista Agut and Monfils en route to Dubai final, where he fell to 0-12 vs World No. 1 (l. to Murray) • Reached No. 29 in Emirates ATP Rankings on March 6 -- highest since No. 29 on July 7, 2014 • Defeated Goffin and Karlovic en route to Doha SF (l. to Djokovic after holding 5 MPs) • Also fell to Djokovic in Australian Open 1R • Withdrew from Sydney due to fatigue

[1] Jack Sock (USA) vs [6] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) Series Tied 1-1 13 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard QF Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-3 16 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard R32 Jack Sock 6-3 4-6 6-4

Sock 2017 Summary W(2):: Auckland (d Sousa); Delray Beach (d Raonic); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal) YTD W-L: 19-5 YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: September 24, 1992 (24) Emirates ATP Ranking: 16 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 12-3 (Champion 2015)

• Tournament Note: Top American is seeded No. 1 this week for first time. Won first ATP World Tour title two years ago (d. Querrey) and last year fell short of repeat (l. to Monaco in three sets) • Comes in with a 19-5 match record and last year didn’t win his 19th and 20th matches of year until third week of July in Washington (QF) • Last week in Davis Cup QF in Brisbane, l. to Thompson in four sets and next day won five-setter (w/Johnson) over Groth/Peers (did not play reverse singles) • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, reached first singles SF in Indian Wells (d. No. 13 Dimitrov in 3R, No. 5 Nishikori in QF, l. to eventual champion Federer). His win over Nishikori was first career Top 5 victory. Then followed with QF in Miami (l. to No. 7 Nadal). Reached doubles final (w/Monroe), l. to Kubot/Melo • Captured 2nd and 3rd ATP singles titles respectively at Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (w/o vs Raonic). Defeated Olympic bronze medal teammate Johnson in Auckland SF and Delray Beach QF • Achieved career-high No. 15 in Emirates ATP Rankings on April 3 after Miami • Advanced to Australian Open 3R for 1st time (d. Herbert and Khachanov, l. to Tsonga) • Clinched USA’s 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Chiudinelli, w/Johnson d. Bossel/Laaksonen Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 5 – Friday, April 14, 2017 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Lopez 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 4-6 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 (35) Emirates ATP Ranking: 40 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 8-4 (Semi-finalist 2012, 2016)

• Tournament Note: The 35-year-old Spaniard advanced to his first QF of season with a 75 64 win over [WC] Fratangelo and 46 62 61 victory over #NextGenATP star Chung. Broke five-match losing streak this season with 1R win over Fratangelo. Trying to reach third semi-final (2012, l. to Isner and last year l. to Monaco) • In first two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, lost in 2R (after bye) at Indian Wells (l. to Lajovic in third set TB) and in Miami (l. to Jaziri in three sets) • Saved 1 MP to beat Benneteau in Montpellier 1R (l. to Paire in 2R) • Played at 60 straight Grand Slam events, most among active streaks and 2nd in Open Era to Federer’s 65 • Advanced to Acapulco doubles final w/Isner (d. Marach/Martin 16-14 in Match TB, l. to J. Murray/Soares) • Fell to Draganja/Mektic w/M. Lopez in 5 sets after 4 hours, 23 minutes in Davis Cup 1R (ESP d. CRO 3-2) • Conceded walkover to Chardy in Auckland 2R due to lower back injury

SPANIARDS IN TOP 50: Verdasco and Lopez are among eight Spaniards in the Top 50 Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 5 Rafael Nadal No. 18 Roberto Bautista Agut No. 19 Pablo Carreno Busta No. 24 Albert Ramos-Vinolas No. 31 Fernando Verdasco No. 34 David Ferrer No. 40 Feliciano Lopez No. 45 Marcel Granollers

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, April 13, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

FIVE AMERICANS SEEK QUARTER-FINAL BERTHS IN HOUSTON

DAY 4 PREVIEW: The top four Americans in the Emirates ATP Rankings - Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson - will seek quarter-final berths on Thursday at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

Sock, Isner, Querrey and Johnson are also the top four seeds this week, and each received a first round bye. The rain-aided late start may be helpful for the American quartet as all four arrived in Houston on Monday after representing the United States in the Davis Cup quarter-final tie over the weekend in Brisbane, Australia.

In a matchup of former Houston champions, Sock (2015) will take on 39-year-old Tommy Haas (2004) for the third time on the ATP World Tour. Haas won their first meeting in the R64 at the 2013 French Open, 7-6(3), 6-2, 7-5, and Sock prevailed, 6-4, 6-4, in the R16 at Auckland in 2014.

Sock is the top seed at an ATP World Tour event for the first time in his career. At 24 years old, he is the youngest No. 1 seed here since 23-year-old Andy Roddick in 2006. Sock is off to a career-best 18-5 start, winning ATP World Tour titles in Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (W/O vs. Raonic). He also advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (d No. 5 Nishikori, l. to Federer) and followed with a quarter-final in Miami (l. to Nadal). He is ranked No. 16. Sock has an 11-3 record in Houston, winning his maiden ATP World Tour title in 2015 (d. Querrey) while unseeded and ranked No. 46. Last year he lost to Juan Monaco, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

Haas turned back the clock on Monday night as he defeated a player 20 years younger in #NextGen ATP American Reilly Opelka, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3. The German missed all of 2016 after undergoing the ninth surgery of his career. The 39-year-old won his first match since Wimbledon 2015 in Monday's first round and is looking to win consecutive matches for the first time since Rome in May 2014.

Isner, the No. 2 seed, will face Argentine qualifier Leonardo Mayer to kick off Thursday's action on Center Court. The American won their only previous encounter, 7-6(6), 6-4, on clay in the R32 at the 2015 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome. Isner is 13-8 lifetime in Houston, winning the title in 2013 (d. Almagro), and is seeking his third ATP World Tour QF of 2017 (Auckland, Memphis). Mayer earned his R16 meeting with Isner by rallying past Czech Adam Pavlasek, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, on Wednesday. A victory would move the 29-year-old Argentine into his first QF of 2017.

In the second match on Center Court, Johnson, seeded No. 4, will battle Germany's Dustin Brown for a spot in the quarter-finals. Johnson won a tight three-setter over Brown, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3), in the R16 at Memphis in 2015 in their only previous matchup. Ranked No. 29 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Johnson has compiled a 11-7 record in 2017, reaching the SF in Auckland (l Sock) and the QF at Memphis, Delray Beach and Acapulco. He is seeking his first career QF berth in Houston. Brown eliminated Monaco, the defending champion, 7-6(7), 6-3, on Monday and is vying for his second ATP World Tour QF of the year (Montpellier, l. to Paire) and second in Houston (2014, l. to Querrey).

The third match on Center Court will feature Querrey, the No. 3 seed, taking on Horacio Zeballos of Argentina for the first time on the ATP World Tour. Querrey is 13-7 lifetime in Houston, reaching the final in 2010 (l. to Chela) and 2015 (l. to Sock). Two months ago, he won his ninth career ATP World Tour title in Acapulco, defeating four top-20 players en route, including No. 6 Rafael Nadal in the final. Zeballos downed Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, 6-2, 7-5, on Wednesday to set up his R16 clash with Querrey. The Argentine was a semi-finalist here in 2010 (l. to Chela) and is 6-3 lifetime in Houston.

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 4 – Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

The other R16 matchups on Thursday's action-packed schedule are No. 5 seed and 2014 champion Fernando Verdasco of Spain taking on Nicolas Kicker of Argentina; No. 6 seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain facing Hyeon Chung of Korea; No. 8 seed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil against Argentine qualifier Maximo Gonzalez; and American wild card Ernesto Escobedo facing Thiago Monteiro of Brazil.

If Sock, Isner, Querrey, Johnson and Escobedo all prevail on Thursday, it would be the most Americans into the quarter-finals at Houston since 2002 (Agassi, Roddick, Sampras, Blake, T. Martin).

DAY 4 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

CENTER COURT

[Q] Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs [2] John Isner (USA) Isner Leads 1-0 15 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay R32 John Isner 7-6(6), 6-4

Mayer FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Buenos Aires, Houston YTD W-L: 2-1 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: May 15, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 144 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (R16 2017)

Isner FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: QF: Auckland (l Johnson); Memphis (l Young) YTD W-L: 7-7 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 10 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 23 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 13-8 (Champion - 2013)

[4] Steve Johnson (USA) vs Dustin Brown (GER) Johnson Leads 1-0 15 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3)

Johnson FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: SF: Auckland (l Sock); QF: Memphis (l Kukushkin); Delray Beach (l Sock); Acapulco (W/O vs Cilic) YTD W-L: 11-7 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 29 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-4 (R16 2014-15, 2017)

Brown FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: QF: Montpellier (l Paire) YTD W-L: 5-8 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: December 8, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 75 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 4 – Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-1 (QF 2014)

Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs [3] Sam Querrey (USA) First Tour-Level Meeting Other Meetings: 12 Sarasota CH (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

Zeballos FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Houston YTD W-L: 6-9 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: April 27, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 87 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-3 (SF 2010)

Querrey FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: W: Acapulco (d Nadal); QF: Delray Beach (l del Potro) YTD W-L: 11-7 YTD Titles: 1 Career Titles: 9 Date of Birth: October 7, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 25 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 13-7 (F 2010, 2015)

[1] Jack Sock (USA) vs [PR] Tommy Haas (GER) Series Tied 1-1 13 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 Tommy Haas 7-6(3), 6-2, 7-5 14 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard R16 Jack Sock 6-4, 6-4

Sock FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: W: Auckland (d Sousa); Delray Beach (d Raonic); SF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal) YTD W-L: 18-5 YTD Titles: 2 Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: September 24, 1992 Emirates ATP Ranking: 16 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 11-3 (Champion 2015)

Haas FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Houston YTD W-L: 1-3 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 15 Date of Birth: April 3, 1978 Emirates ATP Ranking: 826 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 16-7 (Champion 2004)

COURT 3

Nicolas Kicker (ARG) vs [5] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) First Meeting

Kicker FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: QF: Rio de Janeiro (l Ramos-Vinolas) YTD W-L: 4-2 YTD Titles: 0 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 4 – Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 16, 1992 Emirates ATP Ranking: 100 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (R16 2017)

Verdasco FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: F: Dubai (l Murray); SF: Doha (l Djokovic) YTD W-L: 11-7 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 7 Date of Birth: November 15, 1983 Emirates ATP Ranking: 31 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 10-3 (Champion 2014)

Thiago Monteiro (BRA) vs [WC] Ernesto Escobedo (USA) First Meeting

Monteiro FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: QF: Buenos Aires (l Berlocq); Rio de Janeiro (l Ruud) YTD W-L: 7-9 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 31, 1994 Emirates ATP Ranking: 81 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (R16 2017)

Escobedo FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Acapulco, Houston YTD W-L: 4-4 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 4, 1996 Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (R16 2017)

[8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs [Q] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) First Meeting

Bellucci FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: SF: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 7-7 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 65 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (R16 2017)

Gonzalez FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Houston YTD W-L: 1-0 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 20, 1983 Emirates ATP Ranking: 163 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (R16 2017)

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 4 – Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs [6] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) First Meeting

Chung FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Chennai YTD W-L: 4-3 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 19, 1996 Emirates ATP Ranking: 102 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-2 (QF 2016)

Lopez FastFacts: 2017 Highlights: R16 Auckland, Montpellier, Houston YTD W-L: 3-6 YTD Titles: 0 Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 Emirates ATP Ranking: 40 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 7-4 (SF 2012, 2016) FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 3 MEDIA NOTES Wednesday, April 12, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

SEEDS VERDASCO, LOPEZ, YOUNG, BELLUCCI HEADLINE BUSY DAY THREE

DAY 3 PREVIEW: There are nine singles and six doubles matches on Wednesday’s packed schedule at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, with four seeds: No. 5 and 2014 champion Fernando Verdasco, No. 6 Feliciano Lopez, No. 7 Donald Young and No. 8 Thomaz Bellucci leading the way.

The first match on Center Court features South African Kevin Anderson, who looks for his third straight win against Verdasco. Both of the Spaniard’s wins came on European clay in 2011 Estoril and 2012 Barcelona. Anderson ‘s wins came in the 2013 Australian Open (in five sets) and 2016 Nottingham on grass last June. In addition to his title, Verdasco also advanced to the semi-finals here in 2015, the same year Anderson reached the semis.

In the next match on, Bellucci makes his River Oaks debut against #NextGenATP star Frances Tiafoe, who looks to avenge his third set tie-break 2R loss in 2015 Winston-Salem to the Brazilian. One year ago the 19-year-old Tiafoe came into Houston ranked No. 174 and this week he is at No. 89, just three spots off his career-high on March 6. Bellucci looks to even his season match record (6-7) and his best result came in February in Quito where he reached the semi-finals.

In the evening session, #NextGenATP wild card Ernesto Escobedo squares off with qualifier Tennys Sandgren, a 25-year-old former All-American at the University of Tennessee making his ATP World Tour main draw debut. Escobedo won two of the previous three pro meetings in 2015-16. Both players are making their River Oaks main draw debut.

In the last singles match on, American wild card Bjorn Fratangelo looks for his first win (0-2) in Houston as he plays Lopez for the first time. Lopez, a semi-finalist in 2012 and last year, is 2-6 on the season and he’s trying to snap a five-match losing streak. His last win came in the 1R in Montpellier in February. Fratangelo is 1-3 on the season and his lone win came over Bernard Tomic in the 1R at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells last month. Last week he reached the quarter-finals at the Panama City Challenger.

The last match of the day features top seeds and six-time River Oaks champions Bob and Mike Bryan against Leander Paes and Andre Sa. The Bryans are trying to win their first ATP World Tour title of the season in Houston for the second year in a row.

There are three matches on Court 3: Horacio Zeballos of Argentina vs. Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, followed by Young vs. Thiago Monteiro of Brazil and Korean Hyeon Chung vs. Victor Estrella Burgos of Dominican Republic. On Court 7, #NextGenATP star Jared Donaldson plays Argentine qualifier Maximo Gonzalez) and Argentine Leonardo Mayer vs. Adam Pavlasek. Donaldson is ranked a career-high No. 73 this week and he’s No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan standings.

#NEXTGENATP IN DRAW: Here is a look at the six #NextGenATP players in the main draw. Four are playing 1R matches on Wednesday: + Career-high Emirates ATP Ranking

Rank Age Result No. 73+ Jared Donaldson 20 playing M. Gonzalez in 1R No. 89 Frances Tiafoe 19 playing Bellucci in 1R No. 91+ Ernesto Escobedo (WC) 20 playing Sandgren in 1R No. 102 Hyeon Chung 20 playing Estrella Burgos in 1R No. 168+ Reilly Opelka (WC) 19 lost Monday to Haas No. 181 Noah Rubin (Q) 21 lost (ret.) Monday to Kicker Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 3 – Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Page 2 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 3 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

CENTER COURT

Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs [5} Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Series Tied 2-2 11 Estoril (Portugal) Clay QF Fernando Verdasco 6-7(2) 6-2 6-3 12 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4 13 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Kevin Anderson 4-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2 16 Nottingham (Great Britain) Grass R16 Kevin Anderson 6-3 7-6(6)

Anderson 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 2-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 18, 1986 (30) Emirates ATP Ranking: 67 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 5-4 (SF 2015)

Verdasco 2017 Summary F: Dubai (l Murray); SF: Doha (l Djokovic) YTD W-L: 10-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 7 Date of Birth: November 15, 1983 (33) Emirates ATP Ranking: 31 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 9-3 (Champion 2014)

[8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs Frances Tiafoe (USA) Bellucci Leads 1-0 15 Winston-Salem (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 2-6 7-6(2)

Bellucci 2017 Summary SF: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 6-7 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 (29) Emirates ATP Ranking: 65 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

Tiafoe 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 2-5 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: January 20, 1998 (19) Emirates ATP Ranking: 89 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1st Round 2016)

[WC] Ernesto Escobedo (USA) vs [Q] Tennys Sandgren (USA) First Tour Level Meeting Other meetings: 15 U.S.A. F16B (United States) Hard F Tennys Sandgren 6-4 6-4 15 Winnetka CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ernesto Escobedo 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) 16 Maui CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Ernesto Escobedo 6-2 6-2

Escobedo 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 3-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 4, 1996 (20) Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 3 – Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Page 3 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Sandgren 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 0-0 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 22, 1991 (25) Emirates ATP Ranking: 157 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

[WC] Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) vs [6] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) First Meeting

Fratangelo 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 1-3 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 19, 1993 (23) Emirates ATP Ranking: 116 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-2 (1st Round 2014, 2016)

Lopez 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 2-6 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 (35) Emirates ATP Ranking: 40 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-4 (SF 2012, 2016)

COURT 3

Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA) First Tour Level Meeting Other meetings: Dutra Silva Leads 5-2 03 Uruguay F2 (Uruguay) Clay R32 Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4 6-4 09 Brasilia-2 CH (Brazil) Hard R16 Horacio Zeballos 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 13 Sao Paulo1 CH (Brazil) Hard F Horacio Zeballos 7-6(5) 6-2 14 Sao Paulo 2 CH (Brazil) Clay QF Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4 7-5 15 Santiago 2 CH (Chile) Clay F Rogerio Dutra Silva 7-5 3-6 7-5 16 Buenos Aires 2 CH (Argentina) Clay QF Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3 7-6(6) 16 Montevideo CH (Uruguay) Clay QF Rogerio Dutra Silva 2-6 6-4 6-2

[7] Donald Young (USA) vs Thiago Monteiro (BRA) First Meeting

Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) Chung Leads 1-0 16 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Hyeon Chung 6-4 6-7(5) 6-0

COURT 7

Jared Donaldson (USA) vs [Q] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) First Meeting

[Q] Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs Adam Pavlasek (CZE) First Meeting

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: DAY 2 MEDIA NOTES Tuesday, April 11, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

SPANISH DUO, AMERICAN WILD CARDS, HEADLINE DAY TWO ACTION

DAY 2 PREVIEW: There are seven singles and six doubles matches on Tuesday’s schedule at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, with Spanish seeds No. 5 Fernando Verdasco and No. 6 Feliciano Lopez leading the way on Center Court.

The first match on Center is a doubles contest featuring Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of India and Atlanta resident Donald Young. They meet the Indian duo of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan.

In the first singles match on, Kevin Anderson of South Africa looks for his third straight win against 2014 champion Verdasco. Both of the Spaniard’s wins came on European clay in 2011 Estoril and 2012 Barcelona. Anderson ‘s wins came in the 2013 Australian Open (in five sets) and 2016 Nottingham on grass last June. In addition to his title, Verdasco also advanced to the semi-finals here in 2015, the same year Anderson reached the semis.

In the next match on, the wild card team of Dustin Brown and Frances Tiafoe take on No. 2 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia. They are No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings.

In the evening session, American wild card Bjorn Fratangelo looks for his first win (0-2) in Houston as he plays Lopez for the first time. Lopez, a semi-finalist in 2012 and last year, is 2-6 on the season and he’s trying to snap a five-match losing streak. His last win came in the 1R in Montpellier in February. Fratangelo is 1-3 on the season and his lone win came over Bernard Tomic in the 1R at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells last month. Last week he reached the quarter-finals at the Panama City Challenger.

In the last match on, #NextGenATP wild card Ernesto Escobedo squares off with qualifier Tennys Sandgren, a 25-year-old former All-American at the University of Tennessee making his ATP World Tour main draw debut. Escobedo won two of the previous three pro meetings in 2015-16. Both players are making their River Oaks main draw debut.

On Court 3, #NextGenATP stars Jared Donaldson (vs. Maximo Gonzalez) and Hyeon Chung (vs. Victor Estrella Burgos) are the first two matches followed by a pair of doubles matches. Donaldson is ranked a career-high No. 73 this week and he’s No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan standings.

#NEXTGENATP IN DRAW: Here is a look at the six #NextGenATP players in the main draw: + Career-high Emirates ATP Ranking

Rank Age Result No. 73+ Jared Donaldson 20 playing Tuesday vs. M. Gonzalez No. 89 Frances Tiafoe 19 playing Wednesday vs. Bellucci No. 91+ Ernesto Escobedo (WC) 20 playing Tuesday vs. Sandgren No. 102 Hyeon Chung 20 playing Tuesday vs. Estrella Burgos No. 168+ Reilly Opelka (WC) 19 lost Monday to Haas No. 181 Noah Rubin (Q) 21 lost (ret.) Monday to Kicker

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 2 – Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Page 2 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 2 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

CENTER COURT

Anderson 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 2-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 18, 1986 (30) Emirates ATP Ranking: 67 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 5-4 (SF 2015)

[WC] Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) vs [6] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) First Meeting

Fratangelo 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 1-3 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 19, 1993 (23) Emirates ATP Ranking: 116 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-2 (1st Round 2014, 2016)

Lopez 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 2-6 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 (35) Emirates ATP Ranking: 40 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-4 (SF 2012, 2016)

Escobedo 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 3-4 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 4, 1996 (20) Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 2 – Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Page 3 of 3 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Sandgren 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 0-0 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 22, 1991 (25) Emirates ATP Ranking: 157 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

COURT 3

Jared Donaldson (USA) vs [Q] Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) First Meeting

Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) Chung Leads 1-0 16 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Hyeon Chung 6-4 6-7(5) 6-0

COURT 7

[Q] Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs Adam Pavlasek (CZE) First Meeting

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, April 10, 2017 River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas, United States | April 10-16, 2017 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $535,625 | Surface: Clay

FAYEZ SAROFIM & CO. U.S. MEN’S CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIP TALKING POINTS

LONE U.S. CLAY COURT TOURNAMENT: This year's tournament will mark the 83rd edition hosted at River Oaks Country Club. The last five winners are in the 28-player field, with reigning champion Juan Monaco, who also captured the 2012 title. The others are 2015 titleholder Jack Sock, 2014 titlist Fernando Verdasco and 2013 champ John Isner. Sock is the No. 1 seed for the first time in his career in an ATP World Tour event. The other seeds are: No. 2 Isner, No. 3 Sam Querrey, No. 4 Steve Johnson, No. 5 Verdasco, No. 6 Feliciano Lopez, No. 7 Donald Young and No. 8 Thomaz Bellucci. Overall seven players in the Top 50 Emirates ATP Rankings are in the draw for the second straight year.

DAY 1 PREVIEW: There are three matches on the opening day at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, with two former champions leading the way. In the first match on Center Court, Nicolas Kicker of Argentina takes on #NextGenATP American qualifier Noah Rubin for the first time. Kicker is ranked a career-high No. 100 and Rubin is one of a tournament-high 12 Americans in the draw. He is making his River Oaks debut. In the next match on, another #NextGenATP player 19-year-old wild card Reilly Opelka takes on 39-year-old German Tommy Haas, who won the 2004 title (d. Roddick) when Opelka was six years old. The age disparity between the two is 19.42 years. That's the largest age gap between opponents in a tour-level match since 38-year-old Jimmy Connors lost to 19-year-old Michael Chang at Roland Garros in 1991. Haas, who also is the tournament director of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, is looking for his first Tour-level match win of the season (0-3) and first since 2015 Wimbledon (d. Lajovic). One year ago, Opelka was ranked No. 1,008 when he made his ATP World Tour debut as a lucky loser (l. to Querrey). This week he is a career-high No. 168. In the last match, two-time champion (2012, 2016) Juan Moanco takes on German Dustin Brown, who won the previous ATP World Tour meeting in Gstaad last summer. Monaco is attempting to be the first player to defend a US Clay title since Andy Roddick (2001-02). Brown is making his return to River Oaks for the first time since 2014 when he reached the quarter-finals. . REIGNING CHAMPION: Unseeded Monaco comes in as the reigning champion. The 33-year-old Argentine is No. 124 in this week’s Emirates ATP Rankings (was No. 72 last week) since the tournament was held one week earlier last year. Monaco missed the first two months of the season with a wrist injury before returning last month. He has an 0-2 record, losing in the 1R at ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. Last year he came into Houston ranked No. 148 and defeated 2015 champion Sock 36 63 75 in the final. He also won the 2012 title (d. No. 10 Isner). Monaco has a 14-4 record in Houston.

SOCK TOP SEED: Sock is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the first time. The 24- year-old top American is off to a career-best 18-5 start, winning ATP World Tour titles in Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (W/O vs. Raonic). He also advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (d No. 5 Nishikori, l. to Federer) and followed with a quarter-final in Miami (l. to Nadal). He is ranked No. 16. Sock has an 11-3 record in Houston, winning his maiden ATP World Tour title in 2015 (d. Querrey) while unseeded and ranked No. 46. Last year he lost to Monaco 36 63 75 in the final.

#NEXTGENATP IN DRAW: There are six #NextGenATP stars in the main draw: + Career-high Emirates ATP Ranking Rank Age No. 73+ Jared Donaldson 20 No. 89 Frances Tiafoe 19 No. 91+ Ernesto Escobedo (WC) 20 No. 102 Hyeon Chung 20 No. 168+ Reilly Opelka (WC) 19 No. 181 Noah Rubin (Q) 21

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 1 – Monday, April 10, 2017 Page 2 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

QUERREY EYES 300 WINS: Two-time finalist (2010, 2015) and No. 3 seed Querrey is four wins away from joining the 300 Match Wins Club on the ATP World Tour. The 29-year-old California native has a career record of 296-243. Querrey captured his ninth career ATP World Tour title in Acapulco last month, defeating two Top 10 (No. 9 Thiem in QF, No. 6 Nadal in final) and two Top 20 opponents (No. 11 Goffin in 2R, No. 17 Kyrgios in SF) along the way. Querrey has a 13-7 record in Houston, falling to Juan Ignacio Chela in the 2010 final and to Sock in the 2015 championship. He also advanced to the semi-finals in 2014 (W/O vs. Almagro).

ISNER LOOKS TO JUMPSTART 2017: No. 2 seed and 2013 champion Isner comes in with a 6-7 match record on the season. The No. 2 American has not won back-to-back matches in the six previous tournaments he’s played in 2017. His best results are quarter-finals in Auckland and Memphis (after a bye). He is playing in Houston for the 10th straight year (13-8 record) and in addition to his title, he was runner-up in 2012, a semi-finalist last year and quarter-finalist in 2009 and 2011.

AMERICANS IN TOP 50: There are six Americans in the Top 50 Emirates ATP Rankings for the second week in a row. Last week marked the first time since Sept. 12, 2005 there were six Americans in the Top 50. Five of the six are playing at River Oaks (except Harrison). Overall there are 12 Americans in the main draw, the most since 13 in 2007. Here is a look at the Americans in the Top 50:

No. 16 Jack Sock No. 23 John Isner No. 25 Steve Johnson No. 29 Sam Querrey No. 42 Donald Young No. 50 Ryan Harrison Note: For 28 weeks in 2014, the lone American in the Top 50 was Isner.

HAAS RETURNS: Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, the oldest player in the singles draw at 39, returns to Houston for the first time since 2013. Haas is playing in his fourth tournament of the season and he’s looking for his first win (0-3). In his previous tournaments, he lost in the 1R at the Australian Open (retired due to illness vs. Paire), in Delray Beach (l. to Basilashvili) and ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Vesely). Haas, who is the tournament director at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, has a protected ranking of No. 25. He has a 14-7 career record in Houston, winning the title in 2004 (d. No. 2 Roddick), reaching the semi-finals in 2006 and quarter-finals three other times (2005, 2007, 2009). If he defeats wild card Reilly Opelka in the 1R, he would be the oldest to win an ATP World Tour singles match since 1995 Halle when 42-year-old Jimmy Connors reached the quarter-finals.

BRYANS BACK: Six-time U.S. Clay Courts champions Bob and Mike Bryan, who have finished No. 1 on the ATP World Tour in 10 of the last 14 years, are making their 15th appearance in Houston (36-8 record). The reigning champions are the top seeds and they also won titles in 2007, 2009-10-11, 2014. in their last eight visits (DNP ’08, ’12), they have compiled a 28-2 mark since 2007. They are looking for their first title of the season at River Oaks for the second year in a row. Their best result is a runner-up at the Australian Open (l. to Kontinen/Peers). Their last title came at ATP Masters 1000 Rome in May 2016. The other seeds are: No. 2 Cabal/Farah, No. 3 Baker/Mektic and No. 4 Peralta/Zeballos.

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 1 – Monday, April 10, 2017 Page 3 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

SINGLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006): BOLD - Players in singles draw

YEAR WINNER FINALIST SCORE

2016 Juan Monaco Jack Sock 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 2015 Jack Sock Sam Querrey 7-6(9), 7-6(2)

2014 Fernando Verdasco Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6(4) 2013 John Isner Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5

2012 Juan Monaco John Isner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 2011 Ryan Sweeting Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6(3)

2010 Juan Ignacio Chela Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

2009 Lleyton Hewitt Wayne Odesnik 6-2, 7-5

2008 Marcel Granollers James Blake 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

2007 Ivo Karlovic Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 6-1

2006 Mardy Fish Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

DOUBLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006): BOLD - Players in doubles draw

YEAR CHAMPION RUNNER-UP 2016 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan Victor Estrella Burgos / Santiago Gonzalez 2015 Ricardas Berankis / Teymuraz Gabashvili Treat Huey / Scott Lipsky 2014 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan David Marrero / Fernando Verdasco 2013 Jamie Murray / John Peers Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan 2012 James Blake / Sam Querrey Treat Huey / Dominic Inglot 2011 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan John Isner / Sam Querrey 2010 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan Stephen Huss / Wesley Moodie 2009 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan Jesse Levine / Ryan Sweeting 2008 Ernests Gulbis / Rainer Schuettler Pablo Cuevas / Marcel Granollers 2007 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor 2006 Michael Kohlmann / Alexander Waske Julian Knowle / Jurgen Melzer

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 1 – Monday, April 10, 2017 Page 4 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

SEEDS TO WATCH THIS WEEK

SINGLES:

SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH

1. Jack Sock (USA) 11-3 Champion 2015 2. John Isner (USA) 13-8 Champion 2013 3. Sam Querrey (USA) 13-7 F 2010, ’15 4. Steve Johnson (USA) 2-4 R16 2014-15 5. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 11-6 Champion 2014 6. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-4 SF 2012. 2016 7. Donald Young (USA) 4-6 QF 2014 8. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 0-0 Debut

 WILDCARDS (3):  YOUNGEST: Ernesto Escobedo (USA) Frances Tiafoe (USA) – 19 years, 2 months Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) Reilly Opelka (USA)  OLDEST: Tommy Haas (GER) – 39 years, 7 days  QUALIFIERS (4): Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)  TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: Leonardo Mayer (ARG) USA (12), Argentina (5), Brazil (3), Germany, Noah Rubin (USA) Spain (2 each) Tennys Sandgren (USA) Countries in total: 9

 PROTECTED RANKING: Tommy Haas (GER)

DOUBLES:

SEED PLAYERS W-L BEST FINISH 1. Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan 36-8 W 2007, 2009-11, 2014, 2016 2. Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah Debut 3. Brian Baker / Nikola Mektic Debut 4. Julio Peralta / Horacio Zeballos Debut

EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

W F SF QF R16 R28 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 20 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 95,495 50,295 27,245 15,520 9,145 5,420 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 0 — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 29,010b 15,250 8,260 4,730 2,770 —

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 1 – Monday, April 10, 2017 Page 5 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 1 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

CENTER COURT

Nicolas Kicker (ARG) vs [Q] Noah Rubin (USA) First Meeting

Kicker 2017 Summary QF: Rio de Janeiro (l Ramos-Vinolas) YTD W-L: 3-2 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 16, 1992 (24) Emirates ATP Ranking: 100 (Career-high, 1st on Feb. 27) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1st Round 2016)

Rubin 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 1-1 YTD Titles: 0 /Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: February 21, 1996 (21) Emirates ATP Ranking: 181 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

[WC] Reilly Opelka (USA) vs [PR] Tommy Haas (GER) First Meeting

Opelka 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 1-3 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 28, 1997 (19) Emirates ATP Ranking: 168 (Career-high) Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1st Round 2016)

Haas 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 0-3 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 15 Date of Birth: April 3, 1978 (39) Emirates ATP Ranking: 826 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 15-7 (Champion 2004)

Juan Monaco (ARG) vs Dustin Brown (GER) Brown Leads1-0 16 Gstaad (Switzerland) Clay R32 Dustin Brown 6-2 7-5 Other meetings: 03 Jamaica F3 (Jamaica) Hard QF Juan Monaco 6-0 6-1 03 Jamaica F5 (Jamaica) Hard R32 Dustin Brown 6-3 2-1 ret

Monaco 2017 Summary YTD W-L: 0-2 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 9 Date of Birth: March 29, 1984 (33) Emirates ATP Ranking: 124 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 14-4 (Champion 2012, 2016)

Brown 2017 Summary QF: Montpellier (l Paire) YTD W-L: 4-8 YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: December 8, 1984 (32) Emirates ATP Ranking: 75 Houston W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-1 (QF 2014)

Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship Day 1 – Monday, April 10, 2017 Page 6 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

OTHER FIRST ROUND FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Draw Order

Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) Chung Leads 1-0 16 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R32 Hyeon Chung 6-4 6-7(5) 6-0

Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP) First Meeting

Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Series Tied 2-2 11 Estoril (Portugal) Clay QF Fernando Verdasco 6-7(2) 6-2 6-3 12 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R16 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4 13 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Kevin Anderson 4-6 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2 16 Nottingham (Great Britain) Grass R16 Kevin Anderson 6-3 7-6(6)

Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs Frances Tiafoe (USA) Bellucci Leads 1-0 15 Winston-Salem (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 2-6 7-6(2)

Jared Donaldson (USA) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) First Meeting

Donald Young (USA) vs Thiago Monteiro (BRA) First Meeting

Ernesto Escobedo (USA) vs Tennys Sandgren (USA) First Tour Level Meeting Other meetings: 15 U.S.A. F16B (United States) Hard F Tennys Sandgren 6-4 6-4 15 Winnetka CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ernesto Escobedo 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) 16 Maui CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Ernesto Escobedo 6-2 6-2

Leonardo Mayer (ARG) vs Adam Pavlasek (CZE) First Meeting