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Home , 2001 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, Chris Eaton (tennis), Cristiano Caratti, Daniel Nestor, Dmitry Tursunov

TOURNAMENT NOTES

as of January 28, 2016

RBC CHAMPIONSHIPS OF DALLAS DALLAS, TX • JANUARY 30 – FEBRUARY 6

USTA PRO CIRCUIT RETURNS TO DALLAS TOURNAMENT INFORMATION The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas brings the USTA Pro Circuit to Dallas for the Site: T Bar M Racquet Club – Dallas, Texas 16th consecutive year and 19th year overall. (The event was not held in 2000.) This Websites: www.tennischampinoshipsofdallas.com

marks the fifth year the event has offered Dishman USTA/Ned procircuit.usta.com $100,000 in prize money, up from $50,000 Facebook: Tennis Championships of Dallas in 2011. It is the only USTA Pro Circuit : @RBCTennisChamps Challenger hosted in Texas.

Qualifying Draw Begins: Saturday, Jan. 30 This tournament will be streamed live on Main Draw Begins: Monday, Feb. 1 www.procircuit.usta.com. To follow the tournament, download the USTA Pro Main Draw: 32 Singles / 16 Doubles Circuit’s new phone app for smartphones Surface: Hard / Indoor and tablets by searching “procircuit” in the Prize Money: $100,000 Apple and Google Play stores.

Tournament Director: Notable players competing in Dallas include: Darren Boyd, (972) 385-3613, [email protected] Tournament Manager: Dallas defending singles champion Tim Chris Wade, (972) 385-3632, [email protected] Smyczek, who peaked at No. 68 in the world in April 2015 after qualifying for the main Tournament Press Contact: draw of the and winning Dallas defending singles champion Krista Maldonado, (972) 385-3609 his first-round match. In the second round, peaked at No. 68 in the world in April 2015. [email protected] he became a top storyline after facing He has competed in all four events, reaching the third round of the 2013 US Open. USTA Communications Contact: and almost pulling off an Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] upset, falling to the Spaniard in a five-set thriller, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-5. During the $100,000 Challenger in Tiburon, Calif. PRIZE MONEY / POINTS the match, Smyczek was heralded for his Smyczek has played in all four Grand Slam sportsmanship after giving Nadal a first SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points tournaments in his career, advancing to serve when a fan yelled out during Nadal’s Winner $14,400 100 the second round or better at the US Open service toss in the final game of the fifth set. Runner-up $8,480 60 each year from 2012 to 2014, highlighted Following the Australian Open, Smyczek won Semifinalist $5,020 35 by a third-round showing in 2013. He Dallas for his fifth USTA Pro Circuit singles Quarterfinalist $2,920 18 won his first-round match at this year’s title, and in October, he won his sixth title at Round of 16 $1,720 8 Australian Open. Smyczek regularly trains Round of 32 $1,040 0 at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla., and DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) once lived with fellow American Winner $6,200 for a year while training there. Runner-up $3,600

Semifinalist $2,160 Ong USTA/Andrew , who earned a into Quarterfinalist $1,280 Wimbledon in 2015 and reached the Round of 16 $720 fourth round for his career-best Grand Slam result. Kudla played well in back-to-back COMMUNITY EVENTS grass-court Challenger events leading up Saturday, Jan. 30 to Wimbledon last year, winning the title in DTA City Junior Clinic, 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Ilkey and reaching the final in Surbiton. In summer 2015, he reached the semifinals Sunday, Jan. 31 Pro-Ams, all day

Thursday, Feb. 4 Denis Kudla earned a wild card into Wimbledon in 2015 and reached the fourth round, his Junior Deaf Clinic, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. career-best Grand Slam result. He climbed to No. 65 in the world in October 2015. Friday, Feb. 5 Estrada Hinojosa Latino Children’s Clinic, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. *Player field subject to change *Adult Clinics also taking place Monday thru Friday TOURNAMENT NOTES of the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in Atlanta (his best Open for his sixth appearance in the Australian Open main draw. ATP result) and qualified for and Montreal. He also Harrison earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2012 reached the final of the $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Games in London and has been a member of the U.S. Tiburon, Calif., and the semifinals of the $100,000 Challenger in team. He also has enjoyed success on the ATP World Tour, reaching Sacramento last year to peak at No. 65 in the world in November. three semifinals in 2012 to peak at No. 43 in the world. In 2015, This year, he won his first-round match at the Australian Open. Harrison played in the US Open as a wild card and competed in Kudla broke into the Top 100 for the first time in 2013 after qualifying at Wimbledon. Also in 2015, he reached the second round advancing to the second round of Wimbledon—his first Grand Slam at the as a qualifier, pushing eventual champion Kei win. Also in 2013, he qualified for the , reached the Nishikori to three sets, and qualified and reached the semifinals in second round of the US Open and advanced to the quarterfinals of Acapulco before falling to . In 2013, Harrison reached the ATP’s Wimbledon warm-up event at Queens Club. In 2014, he the semifinals of the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in qualified for the Australian Open and won his opening-round match Atlanta, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open tune- at Wimbledon (before losing to in the second round). up event in Sydney and reached the second round of the Australian Kudla holds six USTA Pro Circuit singles titles and four doubles Open and the French Open. Harrison has played in the US Open titles. He was ranked No. 3 in the world junior rankings and reached main draw each of the last six years; in 2010, he qualified and upset the boys’ singles final at the 2010 US Open, where he lost to Jack No. 15 seed Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round, and in 2012, he Sock in three sets. Kudla was born in the Ukraine and came to the also advanced to the second round, losing to 2009 champion Juan U.S. with his parents on his first birthday. Martin del Potro.

Frances Tiafoe, one of the top young players in the world. After , who qualified for the main draw of the 2016 peaking at No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings in 2014, Tiafoe Australian Open for his first appearance in a Grand Slam main turned pro in early 2015 and began transitioning to professional draw outside the US Open. Fratangelo made his Grand Slam events. He won the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge to main-draw debut at the 2015 US Open after winning the USTA earn a spot in the , his Grand Slam debut, and Pro Circuit’s US Open Wild Card Challenge last summer. In the he competed as a wild card at the 2015 US Open by winning the challenge, Fratangelo reached the final of the $50,000 Challenger USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. Also in Binghamton, N.Y., and semifinals at the $100,000 Challenger last year, Tiafoe won his first USTA Pro Circuit singles title last year, in Aptos, Calif., and the $50,000 Challenger in Lexington, Ky. at the $15,000 Futures in Bakersfield, Calif., and advanced to three In addition to his results during the 2015 US Open Wild Card additional USTA Pro Circuit singles finals in 2015 (Tallahassee, Fla., Challenge, Fratangelo reached a final and a semifinal at ITF-level in May; Calabasas, Calif., in March; Weston, Fla., in January). In Challengers in Italy last spring. Those results helped propel him to addition, he served as a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup team a career-high No. 106 in the world in August. Overall, Fratangelo against Great Britain in Scotland in March 2015. In January 2016, has won nine USTA Pro Circuit and ITF-level singles titles over the he competed in Australian Open qualifying for the first time this last three years. As a junior player, Fratangelo—named after 11-time year. As a junior, he reached the boys’ singles semifinals at the 2014 Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg—ranked as high as No. 2 in the US Open and won the prestigious International Tennis ITF World Junior Rankings and competed on the Junior Davis Cup Championships in December 2013, becoming the youngest boys’ team. In 2011, he became the first American since John McEnroe champion in the 67-year history of the event. Tiafoe is a product of in 1977 to win the French Open boys’ singles title. He is coached by the Champions Center in College Park, Md., a USTA USTA National Coach Stanford Boster. Certified Regional Training Center, where his father, an immigrant from , worked as a custodian. He now trains with the , who represented the U.S. at the 2015 Pan USTA; Jose Higueras and Nicolas Todero serve as his coaches. American Games in this past summer, where he won the bronze medal in men’s singles. Also in 2015, Novikov won two , another of the promising young American men singles titles, in Cary, N.C., and Columbus, Ohio, and reached the currently working their way up the rankings. Donaldson made his semifinals in Las Vegas (these were not USTA Pro Circuit events), Grand Slam tournament debut as a wild card at the 2014 US Open, while also reaching the semifinals of the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit where he faced eventual quarterfinalist Gael Monfils in the first Challenger in Knoxville, Tenn., to peak at No. 133 in the world. round. He also competed as a wild card at the 2015 US Open. Novikov was the 2012 USTA Boys’ 18s national champion in singles Donaldson peaked at a career-high No. 133 in November after and doubles. Those victories earned him wild-card entries into reaching the final of the $100,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in each main draw at the 2012 US Open, where he became just the Sacramento, Calif., and the semifinals of the $50,000 Challenger in second USTA Boys’ 18s champ in 15 years (the other being Jack Knoxville, as well as two additional Challenger quarterfinals last fall. Sock) to advance to the second round in singles; he defeated 2013 Also in 2015, he won his first USTA Pro Circuit Challenger title in Wimbledon semifinalist in the first round. Novikov Maui, where he also captured the doubles title with . completed his sophomore year at UCLA in 2013 and turned pro In addition, Donaldson won matches at three ATP events during that summer. He won his first career USTA Pro Circuit title soon summer 2015 (Newport, Cincinnati and Atlanta). In 2014, he won afterward, at the $10,000 Futures in Amelia Island, Fla., and had back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit singles titles at $15,000 Futures a strong 2014, winning three USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles and events in Tulsa, Okla., and Oklahoma City for the first USTA Pro claiming four ITF singles titles. Born in , Novikov moved with Circuit singles titles of his career. As a junior player, he competed his family to the U.S. as a 1-year-old and chose tennis over hockey, in the US Open Junior Championships and represented the United swimming and gymnastics. He is coached by his father, Vladimir, States in Junior Davis Cup (16 and under). He is coached by former and occasionally trains out of the USTA Training Center – West in Top 30 player and has spent time in Dubai training with Carson, Calif. . Players competing in qualifying include: , who recently qualified for the 2016 Australian

*Player field subject to change TOURNAMENT NOTES

Mitchell Krueger, a former junior standout who won his first USTA reaching the NCAA singles quarterfinals to earn All-America honors Pro Circuit event in 2015 at the $15,000 Futures in Los Angeles. and helping lead the Bruins to the NCAA team semifinals. He Also last year, he reached the quarterfinals at $50,000 USTA Pro made history in 2013 during the Emirates Airline US Open Series, Circuit Challengers in Savannah, Ga., and Tallahassee, Fla., and becoming the first unranked teen to qualify for an ATP Masters the final at the $15,000 Futures in Wichita, Kan.. He spent the Series event, at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, last quarter of 2014 competing in and Australia, winning beating Top 100 players and two-time NCAA singles a doubles title in Australia and reaching the singles quarterfinals champion in qualifying. McDonald holds three or better at six events. Krueger was the top-ranked American junior USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles and reached his first USTA Pro boy in 2012, peaking at a career-high No. 5 in the world junior Circuit singles final at the $10,000 Futures in Claremont, Calif., in rankings. He advanced to the boys’ singles semifinals at the French September 2015. Open and Wimbledon in 2012 and turned pro that July. He captured his first pro singles title in 2013 while competing overseas at a Eric Quigley, who was the 2012 NCAA singles runner-up for the clay-court ITF-level event in the . Krueger comes from a University of . Quigley is one of the most decorated tennis tennis-playing family; his father played college tennis at Texas A&M players in Wildcats history, earning five All-America honors between University, and his mother is a tennis coach and played at Louisiana singles and doubles. In 2008, he became the first player from the Tech. He is coached by USTA National Coach Stanford Boster. state of Kentucky in 34 years to win four consecutive high school state singles titles. In 2015, Quigley qualified for the ATP event in , who is climbing back up the rankings after Delray Beach, Fla., and won three USTA Pro Circuit doubles titles, missing most of 2014 due to hip surgery. In 2015, Sandgren, whose as well as one doubles title in Nigeria. He holds one USTA Pro first name is pronounced like the sport, played on the USTA Pro Circuit singles title, which he won in 2013 at the $15,000 Futures Circuit and in ITF-level events in China, Australia and Canada as he in Decatur, Ill. continued to work his way back into form, winning two singles titles. He climbed to a career-high No. 183 in the world in 2013, when he won the USTA Pro Circuit season-ending Challenger in Champaign, Ill. Also in 2013, Sandgren served as a Davis Cup practice partner Many current and past ATP World Tour standouts have found success for the U.S. team as it prepared to face Serbia in Boise, Idaho, and in Dallas. he nearly qualified for the main draw at the , falling to former NCAA champion Steve Johnson in five sets in the 2001 singles champion broke into the Top 20 in final of the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs. Sandgren 2006 and has won seven tour-level singles titles and seven tour-level turned pro following his sophomore season at the University doubles titles in his career. Tursunov also was a valuable member of of Tennessee after reaching the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA the 2006 Russian Davis Cup championship team, posting victories tournament. He has won nine USTA Pro Circuit/ITF-level singles in all four of Russia’s matches that season. titles and 14 doubles titles. His brother, Davey, was a two-time All- American for Tennessee, lettering from 2007-10. 2014 singles champion Steve Johnson peaked at a career-high No. 31 in the world in November after a strong 2015 season, Daniel Nguyen, who competed in Australian Open qualifying for the where he advanced to the third round of the Australian Open and first time this year and was a former college standout at USC. He French Open and reached his first career ATP final in Vienna in holds eight USTA Pro Circuit and ITF singles titles, including two in October. He also reached three additional ATP semifinals. Johnson 2015. In doubles, he has won five combined USTA Pro Circuit and also made his debut for the U.S. Davis Cup Team in 2015 against ITF doubles titles. Nguyen competed throughout the world in 2015, Uzbekistan, winning the doubles rubber with after the making stops in Korea, Great Britain, Malaysia, Vietnam and India. duo advanced to the US Open doubles semifinals together. This year, He played in the main draw of the men’s doubles event at the 2009 Johnson reached the third round of the Australian Open. US Open, where he reached the second round, and he competed in his first-ever Grand Slam singles qualifying draw at the 2015 US Open, 2003 singles runner-up and doubles champion where he won his first-round match. peaked at No. 18 in the world in doubles in 2000 after winning five ATP World Tour doubles titles the year prior. In his career, Gimelstob Connor Smith, who graduated from Ohio State in 2013 after captured 13 doubles titles and won the 2006 singles title at the transferring from State after his freshman and sophomore ATP World Tour event in Newport, R.I. He also reached the doubles seasons. He went 36-7 in singles and 33-7 in doubles during his semifinals of the with —his senior year. Smith had a breakthrough 2014 on the USTA Pro Circuit partner for his 2003 title here—as well as the doubles quarterfinals and in ITF-level events, winning two USTA Pro Circuit singles titles at four additional Grand Slam events. He is currently coaching top- and an ITF-level singles championship in Ecuador. He also won five ranked American man . USTA Pro Circuit/ITF-level doubles titles, giving him seven overall for his career. In 2015, Smith reached the quarterfinals or better at and , who teamed to win the 2007 Dallas three USTA Pro Circuit events and won an ITF-level event in Korea in doubles title, went on to capture three ATP World Tour doubles November after competing abroad for a majority of the second half of events together that year. Jamie, the older brother of 2012 US Open the year in Thailand, Kazakhstan, Korea, Turkey, Italy, Australia and champion , holds 14 ATP World Tour doubles titles and Spain. He is coached by USTA National Coach Stanford Boster. Butorac holds 17.

Mackenzie McDonald, who is a junior at UCLA. During his 2014-15 1998 singles champion is one of the most sophomore season, McDonald earned singles All-American honors, accomplished doubles players in men’s tennis. He has won 88 career peaking at No. 2 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings ATP World Tour doubles titles, including eight Grand Slam men’s that season, and played at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles crowns, as well as the doubles. In his freshman year, McDonald compiled a 33-9 record, gold medal in men’s doubles at the 2000 Summer Games.

*Player field subject to change TOURNAMENT NOTES

DALLAS PAST WINNERS Singles Doubles Year Winner Runner-Up Year Winner 2015 Tim Smyczek (USA) (USA) 2015 (UKR) – (RUS) 2014 Steve Johnson (USA) (TUN) 2014 Samuel Groth (AUS) – (AUS) 2013 (USA) (USA) 2013 Alex Kuznetsov (USA) – (GER) 2012 (USA) (BEL) 2012 (GBR) – (GBR) 2011 Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA) Rainer Schuettler (GER) 2011 (USA) – Rajeev Ram (USA) 2010 Ryan Sweeting (USA) (CAN) 2010 Scott Lipsky (USA) – (USA) 2009 Ryan Sweeting (USA) (USA) 2009 Prakash Amritraj (IND) – Rajeev Ram (USA) 2008 Amer Delic (USA) Stephane Bohli (SUI) 2008 (GER) – Bjorn Phau (GER) 2007 (USA) Benedikt Dorsch (GER) 2007 Eric Butorac (USA) – Jamie Murray (GBR) 2006 (USA) Robert Kendrick (USA) 2006 Rajeev Ram (USA) – (USA) 2005 (SWE) Andre Sa (BRA) 2005 (RSA) – (ECU) 2004 Sebastien De Chaunac (FRA) Amer Delic (USA) 2004 (AUS) – (AUS) 2003 (GER) Justin Gimelstob (USA) 2003 Justin Gimelstob (USA) – Scott Humphries (USA) 2002 (USA) (NED) 2002 (ITA) – Frederic Niemeyer (CAN) 2001 Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) Justin Bower (RSA) 2001 Gavin Sontag (USA) – Jerry Turek (CAN) 2000 Tournament not held 2000 Tournament not held 1999 Andre Sa (BRA) Jimy Szymanski (VEN) 1999 Paul Kilderry (AUS) – Grant Silcock (AUS) 1998 Daniel Nestor (CAN) Cristiano Caratti (ITA) 1998 (USA) – (USA) TOURNAMENT NOTES

USTA PRO CIRCUIT YOUTH TENNIS With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging The USTA is making it easier and more fun for kids to get into 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. The USTA launched the game—and stay in the game. Kids are learning to play its Pro Circuit in 1979 to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and faster than ever before through the USTA’s youth initiative, it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly which is geared toward getting more kids to participate in $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries tennis using modified equipment and courts tailored to a competed in cities nationwide. John Isner, , Andy Murray, Caroline Woznaicki, Kei child’s size. For more information, visit YouthTennis.com. Nishikori, and Sam Querrey are among today’s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit.

More recently, the USTA Pro Circuit was USTA FOUNDATION a pathway to success for two young USTA Foundation, the national charitable organization of Americans in 2015—Frances Tiafoe and the USTA, helps serve up dreams for under-resourced youth;

Samantha Crawford. Tiafoe, a former world Jacob Stuckey individuals with disabilities; and wounded, ill and injured No. 2 junior who turned pro early in 2015, service members, veterans and their families. The foundation started last season ranked No. 1,143. His supports programs nationwide that leverage tennis and successes on the USTA Pro Circuit not only education to help those in need, primarily through the National allowed Tiafoe to finish the year ranked Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network, and other efforts No. 176, but also gave him experience to assist military personnel, veterans and individuals with on the Grand Slam stage. Tiafoe won disabilities. To date, it has awarded more than $19 million in the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card grants and scholarships to hundreds of programs, benefitting Challenge (based on results in three USTA thousands of children and adults through a tennis, education Pro Circuit Challengers) to earn a spot in and health curricula. For more information, visit the website the 2015 French Open, which marked his www.ustafoundation.com. Grand Slam debut. He also won his first USTA Pro Circuit singles title in 2015 at the $15,000 Futures in Bakersfield, Calif., and reached three additional finals. Tiafoe US OPEN NATIONAL PLAYOFFS also competed in the 2015 US Open as a wild card and continues to climb in the The USTA launched the rankings. Crawford, the 2012 US Open US Open National Playoffs in girls’ singles champion, started the 2015 season ranked No. 293 and competed in 23 USTA Pro Circuit 2010, making the US Open events throughout the year. She went on to win the first USTA Pro Circuit singles title of her career at the $50,000 event in Scottsdale, Ariz., and also won two of the USTA Pro Circuit’s wild card challenges “open” to anyone age 14+ and to earn wild cards into the 2015 US Open and . Crawford’s hard work paid off, of all skill levels. Last year, more and in January 2016, she rose to No. 107 in the world after a strong start to the year in Australia, than 1,450 players competed where she reached her first WTA semifinal in Brisbane as a qualifier. in 13 Sectional Qualifying Tournaments nationwide for a 2015 US Open Qualifying USTA PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Tournament wild card. A men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles element also was The USTA Player Development program, working with the American Tennis Family of players, coaches held, with the winning team earning a US Open main draw doubles and families, helps to identify and develop the next generation of American champions by surrounding wild card. Registration for all 2016 sectional events opens on March top junior players and young pros with the resources, facilities and coaching they need to reach their 15, with tournaments taking place in May and June. The US Open maximum potential. The Player Development program is based at the USTA Training Center Headquarters National Playoffs will take place in New Haven in August. For more in Boca Raton, Fla., and utilizes National Training Centers in Carson, Calif., and Flushing, N.Y., as well as information and the schedule, and to vie for a chance to compete in a network of Certified Regional Training Centers located throughout the . the US Open, visit www.usopen.org/NationalPlayoffs.