2019 Media Guide 2019 US Clay Storylines Triple Threat countries in the singles field. Since US Clay came to River Oaks Two-time defending champion Steve Johnson returns to River in 2008, players from 58 different nations have participated in Oaks bidding to be just the third player to three-peat in the the tournament. 100-plus year history of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Champi - onship. Johnson would be the first player to win three in a row Home Cooking since Bobby Riggs did so from 1936-38. Bill Tilden owns the There are 11 Americans in the field this year, which make s the tournament record, having won six straight titles from 1922-27. fourth consecutive time and sixth time in seven years with a The only three-peat in the 85 years of River Oaks tournaments double-digit tally of Americans. Five of those Americans are is Bitsy Grant (1935-37). Only 10 active ATP players have won seeded this year. three straight titles at a single event, and he is one of five play - ers with the chance to win a third straight this season. In 2018, Junior Success Johnson became the first player to win consecutive US Clay ti - Eight players in the US Clay singles field combined to win a tles since Andy Roddick in 2001-02. total of nine Junior Grand Slam titles. The victories include two Australian Opens ( Janko Tipsarevic - 2001, Bernard Tomic - Past Champs & Finalists 2008), three French Opens ( Bjorn Fratangelo - 2011, Christian A trio of former US Clay winners are in the 2019 field: two-time Garin - 2013), three Wimbledons ( Jeremy Chardy - 2005, Noah defending champion Steve Johnson , 2008 champ Marcel Rubin , 2014, Reilly Opelka - 2015) and and a pair of US Opens Granollers and 2007 winner Ivo Karlovic . They are joined by (Tomic - 2009, Taylor Fritz - 2015). two-time finalist Sam Querrey (2010, 2015) and 2018 runner- up Tennys Sandgren . Collegiate Competitors A number of US Clay players had successful college careers be - Family Ties fore embarking as a pro. The field includes three NCAA singles One player in the field has ties to a past River Oaks International champions ( Mackenzie McDonald , UCLA - 2015; Steve John - champion. Christain Ruud, the father and coach of 20-year-old son , USC - 2011-12; Bradley Klahn , Stanford - 2010; and Bob Capser Ruud , won the tournament in 1996 and was the run - Bryan , Stanford - 1998), while Noah Rubin (Wake Forest) was ner-up in 2001. Christian also appeared in the US Men’s Clay the 2015 runner-up. NCAA doubles titles were claimed by Bryan Courts twice, reaching the semifinals in Orlando in 1999 and with his brother Mike at Stanford in 1998, by Austin Krajicek the second round at Houston’s Westside in 2001. for Texas A&M in 2011 (with Jeff Dadamo), and McDonald in 2015 (with Martin Redlicki). The Bryans (1997-98) and Johnson Nice to Meet You (2009-12) won NCAA team titles. Lastly, Cameron Norrie was Seven players are making their US Clay debut: Hugo Dellien , the No. 1 player in the nation while he represented TCU in 2017. Daniel Elahi Galan , Christian Garin , Cameron Norrie , Pejda Krstin , Casper Ruud and Bernard Tomic . Injured List Nick Kyrgios (knee), Yoshihito Nishioka (back) and John Isner Winners Circle (foot) withdrew prior to the event with injury. Two players in the US Clay field have already won titles in 2018: Tennys Sandgren won in Auckland, Reilly Opelka in New York. About the Tournament Through 20 ATP events this season, each has been a unique The Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship is winner, save for Roger Federer who won in both Dubai and an ATP Tour 250 event. It is the only ATP event played on clay in Miami. North America. This year is the 109th edition of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, which started in 1910. The tourna - Two Decade Difference ment has been held in 21 different U.S. cities, and has called The ages of US Clay participants this year range 20 years. Ivo Houston home since moving to Westside Tennis Club in 2001. Karlovic , who reached the semifinals at River Oaks last year, is This year marks the 12th time River Oaks Country Club has the oldest player in the field at 40. The youngest in the field is hosted the tournament. River Oaks first hosted tournament 20-year-old Casper Ruud . tennis in 1931, including an event on the World Championship Tennis circuit from 1970 into the mid-1980s. A prestigous prize International Attraction money tournament in the ensuing years, River Oaks became There are players representing a total of 24 countries playing at home to this ATP event in 2008. This will be the 85th tourna - River Oaks this year, including players representing 14 different ment contested at River Oaks. 2019 US Clay Field Facts & Figures Past Singles Champions Most 2019 Match Wins Past Doubles Champions Steve Johnson 2017, 18 Jordan Thompson 11-8 Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan Marcel Granollers 2008 Reilly Opelka 10-5 2016, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007 Ivo Karlovic 2007 Pablo Cuevas 9-7 Sam Querrey 2012 Jeremy Chardy 8-8 Most US Clay Appearances (incl 2019) Ivo Karlovic 8-7 Most Career Doubles Titles Sam Querrey 11 MacKenzie McDonald 8-7 Mike Bryan 123 Ivo Karlovic 8 Cameron Norrie 8-7 Bob Bryan 118 Ryan Harrison 7 Marcel Granollers 16 Steve Johnson 7 Most Career Match Wins Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 16 Ryan Harrison 6 Ivo Karlovic 365-330 Santiago Gonzalez 12 Sam Querrey 351-285 Most US Clay Wins Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 296-350 Most Career Doubles Match Wins Sam Querrey 14-9 Jeremy Chardy 256-261 Mike Bryan 1,125-360 Steve Johnson 11-4 Janko Tipsarevic 282-248 Bob Bryan 1,084-346 Ivo Karlovic 10-6 Marcel Granollers 351-231 Marcel Granollers 6-1 Fewest Career Match Wins Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 232-278 Santiago Giraldo 5-2 Pedja Krstin 2-2 Santiago Gonzalez 248-234 Daniel Elahi Galan 5-3 Oldest Players Noah Rubin 7-16 Most 2019 Match Wins Ivo Karlovic 40 Bradley Klahn 9-30 Bob Bryan 16-6 Paolo Lorenzi 37 Hugo Dellien 14-10 Mike Bryan 16-6 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 35 Luke Bambridge 11-7 Janko Tipsarevic 34 Most Career Clay Court Wins Jonny O’Mara 11-7 Jeremy Chardy 32 Pablo Cuevas 143-92 Jeremy Chardy 9-4 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 134-135 Youngest Players Marcel Granollers 100-109 2019 Title Winners - Teams Casper Ruud 20 Jeremy Chardy 93-82 Bryan & Bryan Miami, Delray Beach Taylor Fritz 21 Santiago Giraldo 93-87 Chardy & Martin Marseille Reilly Opelka 21 Christian Garin 22 2019 Title Winners 2019 Title Winners - Individuals MacKenzie McDonald 23 Reilly Opelka New York Chardy Rotterdam Cameron Norrie 23 Tennys Sandgren Auckland Country Breakdown - Doubles Country Breakdown - Singles Most Career Titles USA 12 USA 11 Sam Querrey 10 Great Britain 4 Australia 2 Ivo Karlovic 8 Australia 3 Colombia 2 Pablo Cuevas 6 France 2 Spain 2 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 5 India 2 Serbia 2 Marcel Granollers Mexico 2 Bolivia 1 Steve Johnson 4 Bolivia 1 Chile 1 Janko Tipsarevic 4 El Salvador 1 Croatia 1 Bernard Tomic 4 New Zealand 1 France 1 Pakistan 1 Great Britain 1 Most Career Clay Court Titles Spain 1 Italy 1 Pablo Cuevas 6 Uruguay 1 Norway 1 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 3 Switzerland 1 Marcel Granollers 3 Uruguay 1 Steve Johnson 2 Five players 1 2019 Main Draw Singles Player Profiles OVERALL CLAY PLAYER AGE RANK 2019 CAREER TITLES 2019 CAREER TITLES US Clay (2) Jeremy Chardy (France) 32 42 8-8 256-261 1 0-0 93-82 1 3-2 Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 33 83 9-7 206-176 6 4-3 143-92 6 3-2 Hugo Dellien (Bolivia) 25 76 4-3 14-10 0 4-3 12-6 0 0-0 (WC) Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) 25 127 1-2 17-30 0 0-0 5-8 0 1-2 (5) Taylor Fritz (USA) 21 58 4-6 56-62 0 0-0 6-5 0 3-1 (Q) Daniel Elahi Galan (Colombia) 22 241 1-0 5-3 0 1-0 1-1 0 0-0 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 35 115 5-6 296-350 5 0-0 134-135 3 3-2 Christian Garin (Chile) 22 73 7-5 17-21 0 7-4 15-12 0 0-0 (Q) Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) 31 224 1-0 167-201 0 1-0 93-87 0 5-2 Marcel Granollers (Spain) 32 112 1-5 195-243 4 0-0 100-109 3 6-1 Ryan Harrison (USA) 26 107 7-6 116-156 1 0-0 13-26 0 4-6 (1) Steve Johnson (USA) 29 39 4-7 153-147 4 0-0 27-24 2 11-4 Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 40 77 8-7 365-330 8 0-0 54-74 1 10-6 Bradley Klahn (USA) 28 93 0-4 9-30 0 0-0 0-2 0 0-1 (Q) Pedja Krstin (Serbia) 24 195 0-0 2-2 0 0-0 2-0 0 0-0 Denis Kudla (USA) 26 85 3-8 44-82 0 0-0 3-9 0 2-3 (Q) Henri Laaksonen (Switzerland) 27 126 1-3 30-38 0 0-0 13-16 0 1-1 Paolo Lorenzi (Italy) 39 108 3-5 106-174 1 0-2 59-79 1 3-4 (6) MacKenzie McDonald (USA) 23 59 8-7 17-24 0 0-0 0-1 0 0-1 (3) Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) 23 55 8-7 29-29 0 1-2 7-6 0 0-0 (4) Reilly Opelka (USA) 21 56 10-5 18-20 1 0-0 0-2 0 0-2 (8) Sam Querrey (USA) 31 71 6-6 351-285 10 0-0 48-61 1 14-9 (WC) Noah Rubin (USA) 23 144 0-1 7-16 0 0-0 1-3 0 0-1 Casper Ruud (Norway) 20 95 5-3 22-24 0 5-2 15-13 0 0-0 Tennys Sandgren (USA) 27 81 5-7 23033 1 0-0 7-12 0 4-2 (7) Jordon Thompson (AUS) 24 67 11-8 28-48 0 0-0 3-8 0 0-1 (WC) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 34 372 1-2 282-248 4 0-0 67-65 1 1-2 Bernard Tomic (Australia) 26 79 2-4 180-169 4 0-0 10-38 0 0-0 NOTE: Rankings and records as of April 8.