Tournament Notes
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TournamenT noTes as of september 5, 2011 USTA CHALLENGER OF OKLAHOMA TULSA, OK • SEPTEMBER 10–18 USTA PRO CIRCUIT MEN’S CHALLENGER RETURNS TO TULSA TournamenT InFormaTIon The USTA Challenger of Oklahoma is taking place in Tulsa for the seventh straight year. Site: Philcrest Hills Tennis Club – Tulsa, Okla. Aside from a two-year hiatus (2003-04), Tulsa has hosted a USTA Pro Circuit tournament Websites: www.philcresthills.com on an annual basis since 1988. The city also procircuit.usta.com welcomed a men’s Futures event in July, Qualifying draw begins: Saturday, September 10 which was held at the University of Tulsa. Alex Livesey/Getty Images The USTA Challenger of Oklahoma is the Main draw begins: Monday, September 12 first event following the US Open and has Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles featured an All-American singles final each of the last five years. Surface: Hard / Outdoor Prize Money: $50,000 Based on ATP singles rankings, 14 of the top 27 American men are slated to play Tournament Director: in Tulsa, led by former world No. 17 Sam Russell Warner, (918) 629-3753 Querrey, who has captured six singles and [email protected] three doubles titles on the ATP World Tour, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and USTA Public Relations Contact: the US Open in 2010, and won the Olympus Former world No. 17 Sam Querrey has captured Joshua Rey, (786) 554-5667 US Open Series Bonus Challenge in 2009. six singles titles on the ATP World Tour and will [email protected] be playing his first tournament in three months Having struggled with elbow and shoulder in Tulsa since injuring his elbow. injuries this season, the 23-year-old Querrey PrIze money / PoInTs will be playing his first tournament in three months and his first USTA Pro Circuit event winning the eight-man US Open Wild Card Prize Money Ranking Points SINGLES: since October 2007. Playoff to earn a main draw wild card into Winner $7,200 80 the 2011 US Open, as well as capturing Runner-up $4,240 48 Three former Tulsa singles champions are his 27th career USTA Pro Circuit title in Semifinalist $2,510 29 expected to compete, including: 2006 the Winnetka, Ill., doubles event; 2007 Quarterfinalist $1,460 15 and 2010 champion Bobby Reynolds, champion Jesse Witten, a former NCAA Round of 16 $860 7 who is enjoying a resurgent summer after Division I singles finalist who has qualified Round of 32 $520 – for three Grand Slam events, highlighted by DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) a run to the third round of the 2009 Winner $3,100 US Open in which he pushed current world Runner-up $1,800 No. 1 Novak Djokovic to four sets; and Semifinalist $1,080 2008 winner Kevin Kim, a 15-year veteran Quarterfinalist $640 who has won main draw matches at all four Round of 16 $360 majors. Kim (UCLA), Witten (Kentucky) and Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Reynolds (Vanderbilt) each earned ITA All-American honors before turning pro. CommunITy eVenTs Also on the Tulsa entry list are 2006 singles Sunday, September 11 runner-up Michael Russell, who has won 12 Pro-Am, 6 p.m. matches on the ATP World Tour in 2011, reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier at Memphis and pushing Andy Roddick to four sets in the first round of the US Ten years after playing in Tulsa, Mardy Fish has reached three finals on the ATP World Tour this year and rose to a career-high world ranking of No. 7 in August. TournamenT noTes Open; Rajeev Ram, a three-time Tulsa and six-time ATP doubles and won the 2009 NCAA Division I singles championship as a champion who defeated former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt en route member of the University of Mississippi tennis team; and Alexander to the singles quarterfinals at the Olympus US Open Series event Domijan, a University of Virginia sophomore who earned 2011 ITA in Atlanta earlier this summer; and Tim Smyczek, who reached the All-American and Rookie of the Year honors. quarterfinals of the ATP tournament at San Jose this year and won USTA playoff events to earn main draw wild cards for the 2011 Many top Americans have competed in Tulsa. 2011 Wimbledon French Open and 2010 US Open. quarterfinalistMardy Fish, who shared the 2001 Tulsa doubles title with countryman Jeff Morrison, has won six career ATP World Tour Other Americans in the field are 2009 Tulsa finalistWayne Odesnik; singles titles. Fish won 14 of 17 matches this summer, clinching University of Arkansas graduate Blake Strode, who won his second the 2011 Olympus US Open Series and rising to a career-high No. straight US Open National Playoffs title in August and who deferred 7 in the world this August. Since winning the 1998 Tulsa doubles Harvard Law School to play pro tennis; 19-year-old Denis Kudla, championship, Bob and Mike Bryan have claimed an all-time the 2010 US Open boys’ singles runner-up and a 2011 Newport record 73 tour-level titles together, including the career Grand ATP quarterfinalist; andAlex Kuznetsov, who reached the singles Slam: Australian Open (2006-07, 2009-11), French Open (2003), quarterfinals or better in three USTA Pro Circuit Challenger events Wimbledon (2006, 2011) and US Open (2005, 2008, 2010). this season. Mike was a singles runner-up in Tulsa in 1997. 2007 singles runner-up Donald Young reached the round of 16 at this year’s Among the players expected in qualifying are: George Bastl, a 36-year- US Open, where he upset two seeds, and also posted his career-best old Swiss player who defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2002; result this summer by reaching the semifinals of the Olympus Devin Britton, who reached the 2008 US Open boys’ singles final US Open Series event in Washington D.C. TULSA PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2010 Bobby Reynolds (USA) Lester Cook (USA) 2010 Andrew Anderson (RSA) – Fritz Wolmarans (RSA) 2009 Taylor Dent (USA) Wayne Odesnik (USA) 2009 David Martin (USA) – Rajeev Ram (USA) 2008 Kevin Kim (USA) Vince Spadea (USA) 2008 Ashley Fisher (AUS) – Stephen Huss (AUS) 2007 Jesse Witten (USA) Donald Young (USA) 2007 Rajeev Ram (USA) – Bobby Reynolds (USA) 2006 Bobby Reynolds (USA) Michael Russell (USA) 2006 Rajeev Ram (USA) – Bobby Reynolds (USA) 2005 Harel Levy (ISR) Benedikt Dorsch (GER) 2005 Scott Lipsky (USA) – David Martin (USA) 2002 Robert Kendrick (USA) Daniel Melo (BRA) 2002 Scott Humphries (USA) – Mark Merklein (BAH) 2001 Jan Hernych (CZE) Vince Spadea (USA) 2001 Mardy Fish (USA) – Jeff Morrison (USA) 2000 Jimy Szymanski (VEN) Raemon Sluiter (NED) 2000 Enrique Abaroa (MEX) – Michael Sell (USA) 1999 Andre Sa (BRA) Jimy Szymanski (VEN) 1999 Jeff Coetzee (RSA) – Alejandro Hernandez (MEX) 1998 Bob Bryan (USA) Adam Peterson (USA) 1998 Bob Bryan (USA) – Mike Bryan (USA) 1997 Jonathan Erlich (ISR) Mike Bryan (USA) 1997 Chris Mahony (AUS) – Pablo Montana (USA) 1996 Mark Merklein (BAH) David Caldwell (USA) 1996 David Caldwell (USA) – Eric Taino (PHI) 1995 Jamie Holmes (AUS) Brett Hansen-Dent (USA) 1995 Brett Hansen-Dent (USA) – Jonathan Leach (USA) 1994 Mark Merklein (BAH) Wayne Black (ZIM) 1994 David Blair (USA) – Mark Merklein (BAH) 1993 Michael Hegarty (AUS) John Sullivan (USA) 1993 Chris Haggard (RSA) – Chris Woodruff (USA) 1992 Jack Waite (USA) Michael Hegarty (AUS) 1992 David Blair (USA) – Mark Merklein (BAH) 1991 Al Parker (USA) Roland Thornqvist (SWE) 1991 Ellis Ferreira (RSA) – Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) 1990 Keith Evans (USA) David Harkness (USA) 1990 Kurt Streeter (USA) – Miles Walker (USA) 1989 Mike Holten (USA) Mike Wolf (USA) 1989 Trevor Kronemann (USA) – Mike Wolf (USA) 1988 Charles Honey (RSA) Kenny Thorne (USA) 1988 Charles Honey (RSA) – Earl Zinn (RSA) TournamenT noTes USTA PRO CIRCUIT 10 AND UNDER TENNIS With 90-plus tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 10 and Under Tennis is a nationwide USTA initiative that to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring uses the QuickStart Tennis play format and takes a better tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit approach to introducing kids to the game. Balls are lower in 32 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since compression, so they are easier to hit; racquets are sized for grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering more than $2.5 million in small hands; and the courts are smaller and easier to cover. prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities Full-sized courts can now be reconfigured to accommodate nationwide. Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake, Justine Henin, Andy up to six 36-foot courts. In turn, kids learn, rally, play and Murray and Sam Querrey are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. compete right from the start, and the game becomes more accessible and fun for them. For more information, visit The USTA Pro Circuit helped launch the www.10andundertennis.com. careers of two young Americans—Melanie John Isner Oudin and John Isner. Oudin began 2009 ranked No. 177, but climbed the rankings NJTL by winning back-to-back $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit events. With a boost in confidence, she Cities across the country participate in the USTA/National Junior reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, a nationwide network of the quarterfinals of the 2009 US Open.