TournamenT noTes as of april 6, 2011 USTA TALLAHASSEE TENNIS CHALLENGER TALLAHASSEE, FL • APRIL 9–17 USTA PRO CIRCUIT MAKES A RETURN TO TALLAHASSEE TournamenT InFormaTIon The USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger, in its 19th year on the USTA Pro Circuit, Site: Forest Meadows Tennis Center – Tallahassee, Fla. is the third Challenger of the 2011 USTA Websites: www.tallahasseechallenger.com season and is one of two USTA Pro Circuit procircuit.usta.com Challengers held in Florida. (Sarasota hosts a clay court tournament in mid-May.) Facebook: USTA Tallahassee Tennis Challenger Overall, there are 13 USTA Pro Circuit Twitter: TallyChallenger men’s events (Futures and Challengers combined) taking place in Florida, the most Qualifying Draw Begins: Saturday, April 9 of any state. Main Draw Begins: Monday, April 11 This year’s event will include a 10 32 Singles / 16 Doubles Main Draw: and Under Tennis clinic, featuring the Surface: Hard / Indoors QuickStart Tennis play format, on Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 400 local Prize Money: $50,000 children are expected to attend and play Tournament Director: tennis using racquets, balls and courts that Karen Vogter, (850) 545-8740 are sized right for kids so that they enjoy [email protected] and develop their games. The tournament will also conduct a Special Olympics Tallahassee wild card James Blake peaked at Tournament Press Contact: Carnival with more than 300 participants. No. 4 in the world in 2006. Lauryn McCreadie, (813) 716-8968 Throughout the week, the Challenger will [email protected] be collecting donations for the USTA’s Expected in this year’s main draw is USTA Communications Contacts: Adopt-A-Unit program, which guides tennis organizations to “adopt” a military unit by James Blake, a central figure in American Amanda Korba, (914) 697-2219, [email protected] sending care packages of necessities. In tennis, who received a wild card into Eric Schuster, (914) 696-7260, [email protected] turn, USTA Serves, the national charitable the tournament. Blake peaked at No. 4 PrIze money / PoInTs foundation of the USTA, sends portable in the world in 2006 after reaching the SINGLES: Prize Money Ranking Points tennis equipment to the adopted unit. quarterfinals of the US Open, upsetting Winner $7,200 80 Rafael Nadal en route and losing to Andre Runner-up $4,240 48 Agassi in a five-set thriller. He has captured Semifinalist $2,510 29 10 ATP World Tour singles titles and holds Quarterfinalist $1,460 15 a 21-12 career record (18-11 in singles) Round of 16 $860 7 in Davis Cup, where he was a member of USTA Round of 32 $520 - the championship team in 2007. Blake will DOUBLES: Prize Money (per team) compete in the tournament Pro-Am and Winner $3,100 play with breast cancer survivors. Runner-up $1,800 Semifinalist $1,080 Also expected in the main draw is former Quarterfinalist $640 world No. 5 Rainer Schuettler of Germany, Round of 16 $360 who has played professional tennis since 1995 and has captured four career ATP CommunITy eVenTs World Tour titles. He advanced to the final Sunday, April 10: Pro-Am, 4 p.m. of the 2003 Australian Open, where he Monday, April 11: Boys & Girls Club/Boys Town Tennis lost to Andre Agassi, and also reached Jamboree, 4:30-5:30 p.m. the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2008. Tuesday, April 12 : QuickStart Tennis Clinic, Schuettler finished 2010 ranked in the 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13: QuickStart Tennis Clinic, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; QuickStart Demo Former world No. 5 Rainer Schuettler reached Wednesday, April 13: First Serve Mentoring & the final of the 2003 Australian Open, where he Educational Tennis Clinic, 4-5:30 p.m. lost to Andre Agassi. Thursday, April 14: USPTA Clinics, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Adopt-A-Unit awards ceremony Friday, April 15: Special Olympics Tennis Carnival, 10-11:30 a.m. TournamenT noTes Top 100 for the 11th time in 12 years and was the oldest player NCAA doubles champion, who last year qualified for and reached ranked in the Top 100 last year at age 34. He reached the final of the final of the $50,000 Challenger in Charlottesville, Va., in his the USTA Pro Circuit Challenger in Dallas in March 2011. best pro result. Also expected in the main draw are: Ryan Sweeting, who rose to Among those expected in qualifying are a host of up-and-coming a career-high No. 91 this March after advancing to the second American juniors, including: 2009 Wimbledon boys’ singles finalist round of the 2011 Australian Open, the third round of the ATP Jordan Cox, who won his first pro title last year at a $15,000 event event in Delray Beach, Fla., (where he upset Sam Querrey) and in Korea and reached the semifinals or better at three USTA Pro the third round of the ATP Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Circuit events in the latter half of 2010; 16-year-old Christian Calif.; Michael Russell, a quarterfinalist this year at the ATP event Harrison, U.S. Davis Cup rookie Ryan Harrison’s younger brother, in Memphis, Tenn., and also the men’s all-time leader in USTA who trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Pro Circuit singles titles with 22, who advanced to the second Fla., and captured the boys’ 16s title at the 2008 USTA round of the Australian Open in January; and Tim Smyczek, who International Spring Championships as a 13-year-old; and Devin won an eight-man USTA wild card playoff to earn a spot in the Britton, who enrolled at the University of Mississippi in January main draw of the 2010 US Open—his first Grand Slam main draw 2009 and, five months later, became the youngest man ever to appearance. win the NCAA singles title (18 years, 2 months). His NCAA title earned him a main draw wild card into the 2009 US Open, where Other USTA Pro Circuit standouts competing in the main draw he pushed five-time defending champion Roger Federer in a 6-1, are: 2009 Tallahassee singles runner-up Donald Young, who 6-3, 7-5 defeat. Britton also reached his first career USTA Pro defeated world No. 5 Andy Murray en route to the third round of Circuit final last year at the $10,000 Futures in Claremont, Calif., the ATP Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Calif., in March, following the US Open. and who broke into the Top 100 in 2007 after reaching the third round of the US Open and advancing to the singles final of seven Also expected in qualifying are: Jesse Levine, who played one year USTA Pro Circuit tournaments; 2008 Tallahassee singles and at the University of Florida and had his best showing at a Grand doubles champion Bobby Reynolds, who won two USTA Pro Circuit Slam event at Wimbledon in 2009, defeating former US Open and Challengers in 2010 after reaching the third round of Wimbledon Australian Open champion Marat Safin en route to the third round; in 2008 and reaching a career-best singles ranking of No. 63 in 6-foot-7 Alex Domijan, a two-time USTA Pro Circuit singles finalist early 2009 before a wrist injury derailed his season; and Alex who plays for the University of Virginia and spent much of 2009 as Kuznetsov, who has reached seven USTA Pro Circuit singles finals the No. 1 player in the USTA Boys’ 18s national standings; Kevin in his career, claiming two titles. Kim, who peaked at No. 63 in 2005 after advancing to the third round of the Australian Open, and who holds nine career singles Also expected in the main draw are: last year’s singles champion titles on the USTA Pro Circuit; and Michael Yani, who qualified for Brian Dabul of Argentina, who reached the semifinals of the ATP the main draw of the 2010 French Open and lost to Lukas Lacko grass-court event in Newport, R.I., in 2010 and lost to Roger of Slovakia, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 12-10, in a first round Federer in the first round of the 2010 US Open; Carsten Ball of marathon that was played over two days and covered 4 hours and Australia, who rose to a career-high No. 108 in July 2010 after 56 minutes of playing time. The 71 games equaled the most in a winning his first career USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 Challenger singles match at Roland Garros since tie-breaks were instituted in singles title in Lexington, Ky., and who advanced to his first ATP 1973. World Tour singles final at the 2009 LA Tennis Open, an Olympus US Open Series event, where he lost to Sam Querrey in the final; Other players expected in qualifying include: former University of former University of Kentucky standout Jesse Witten, who had Arkansas All-American Blake Strode, who won the 2010 the best Grand Slam result of his career at the 2009 US Open by US Open National Playoffs to earn a wild card into the 2010 qualifying and knocking off two Top 100 players before falling to US Open Qualifying Tournament, where he won his first match, Novak Djokovic in four sets in the third round; Alex Bogomolov and who in 2009 chose to defer Harvard Law School to pursue Jr., a four-time US Open wild card who was sidelined by a wrist professional tennis; former world No. 77 Wayne Odesnik, who injury in October 2008 and who, in 2010, won his first USTA Pro has returned to competition following a year-long suspension as Circuit tournament in three years by capturing the singles title at dictated by the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, which is administered the season-ending $50,000 Challenger in Champaign, Ill., and, in by the International Tennis Federation, and who reached the third March, knocked off Murray en route to the third round in Miami; round at the 2008 French Open and was a finalist at the ATP World and three-time Texas A&M All-American Lester Cook, who cracked Tour event in Houston in 2009; Nicholas Monroe, who qualified for the Top 200 for the first time in his career in October 2010 after six $50,000 Challengers last year and was a two-time All-American a singles runner-up showing at the $50,000 Challenger in Tulsa, at the University of North Carolina (2003-04); and Phillip Okla., and eight USTA Pro Circuit appearances in the quarterfinals Simmonds, who won his first USTA Pro Circuit title since 2006 this or better.