HOUSTON (Feb. 14, 2023) – Tommy Paul, who reached the Australian Open semifinals last month, and Brandon Nakashima, the 2022 ATP Tour Next Gen champion, have been added to the field for the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The duo joins fellow Americans Reilly Opelka, John Isner, JJ Wolf and Frances Tiafoe in the field along with 2019 winner Cristian Garin of Chile for the ATP 250 tournament that will be held April 1-9 at River Oaks Country Club.
“We are very excited to have Tommy and Brandon further strengthen our field for this April’s U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship,” Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer said. “We saw such a surge of American success at the Australian Open, and we’re thrilled to know these six U.S. players, along with a past champion in Cristian, are coming to River Oaks in just over a month.”
Paul has surged into the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings following a run to the Australian Open semifinals last month. His previous best result at a major came last summer when he reached the Wimbledon Round of 16. In 2021, Paul claimed the first ATP title of his career in Stockholm.
Paul, who will be making his third US Clay appearance, recorded the first ATP match win of his career at River Oaks in 2016. The 25-year-old who was born in New Jersey won the 2015 French Open junior title.
At 21-years-old, Nakashima is the youngest player to commit to the US Clay field. After the US Open in 2022, he won his first ATP Tour title in his hometown of San Diego while also winning the ATP’s Next Gen Finals, a season-ending competition for players 21-and-under. A year before lifting his first trophy, Nakashima reached back-to-back ATP finals at Cordoba and Atlanta. Just 19-years-old at the time, he was the youngest American to reach multiple finals in the same season since Andy Roddick did so in 2001 and 2002, the years he won back-to-back US Clay titles.
Several of the other American US Clay entrants have enjoyed early season success in 2022. Wolf has continued his steady climb in the rankings by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open and the semifinals in Dallas. Tiafoe started the season by going 5-0 while leading Team USA to a title at the inaugural United Cup.
Isner, the runner-up at River Oaks last year, reached the finals in Dallas already in 2023. The 2013 US Clay winner, he is one of three former champions in the field, joined by 2022 winner Opelka and 2019 champion Garin.
Limited single session tickets remain available for the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship remain available at mensclaycourt.com/tickets.
Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club
River Oaks Country Club is hosting a professional tennis tournament for the 87th time when the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship will be held April 1-9, 2023. River Oaks first hosted its own tournament, The River Oaks International, in 1931, and its roster of former champions includes Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, Guillermo Vilas and James Blake. Houston is the 21st city to host the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. The tournament came to Houston in 2001, and has been hosted at River Oaks since 2008. Started in 1910 by the USTA, the 2023 tournament will be the 111th competition for the Clay Court Championship. American Reilly Opelka was the 2022 singles champion while Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell won the doubles title. The tournament beneficiary is the National Junior Tennis & Learning programs of the Houston Tennis Association. More information about the tournament can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com.
