HOUSTON – The seeds and the initial doubles entry list for the 2015 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club have been released with the tournament just over one week from beginning.
Seeds are awarded to the eight highest ranked players in the field, and the top four seeds will have first round byes. The 2015 projected seeds, which include two former champions, are:
1. Feliciano Lopez (Spain) No. 12: 10-5 in 2015; Finalist in Quito, quarterfinalist at Indian Wells; Career-high ranking; 33-years-old.
2. Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) No. 15: 8-7 in 2015; Semifinalist in Chennai; 2014 ATP World Tour Most Improved Player
3. Kevin Anderson (South Africa) No. 17: 13-7 in 2015; Finalist in Memphis, semifinalist in Acapulco and Auckland
4. Gael Monfils (France) No. 19: 10-4 in 2015; Finalist in Marseille, semifinalist in Montpellier, quarterfinalist in Rotterdam
5. John Isner (USA) No. 24: 5-6 in 2015; Quarterfinalist in Memphis; 2013 champion at River Oaks, 2012 finalist
6. Bernard Tomic (Australia) No. 29: 19-6 in 2015;. Semifinalist at Delray Beach, quarterfinalist at five events, including Indian Wells; Tied for most match wins this season (with Djokovic, Berdych and Ferrer)
7. Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) No. 31: 6-8 in 2015; Semifinalist in Sao Paolo; 2014 semifinalist at River Oaks
8. Fernando Verdasco (Spain) No. 34: 8-6 in 2015; Semifinalist in Quito; 2014 River Oaks champion.
Thirteen players in the field are currently ranked in the Top 50 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, the most since the tournament moved to Houston in 2001.
There are four other Americans joining Isner in the field, and all are bunched in the rankings, with Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, Donald Young and Jack Sock holding down spots No. 42-45.
Tournament seeds are based on the Monday, March 23 Emirates ATP Rankings. Main draw play for the tournament begins April 6 at River Oaks Country Club.
The seeds are subject to change based on any wild card entrants into the field or withdrawals between now and April 3 when the field will be finalized and the draw will be made.
The world No. 1 duo of Bob & Mike Bryan headline the initial entry list of 10 doubles teams for the 2015 tournament.
Five-time champions in Houston, the Bryans have been the No. 1 doubles team in the world 10 times in the past 12 years. They have won a record 104 career titles together and are closing in on 1,000 match wins in their career (921-275).
Here are the initial 10 teams in the 2015 doubles field:
Bob Bryan (USA) & Mike Bryan (USA)
Eric Butorac (USA) & Sam Groth (Australia)
Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) & Jurgen Melzer (Austria)
Mariusz Fyrstenberg (Poland) & Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico)
Chris Guccione (Australia) & Andre Sa (Brazil)
Treat Huey (Philippines) & Scott Lipsky (USA)
Marcus Daniell (New Zealand) & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan)
Victor Estrella Burgos (Dominican Republic) & Joao Souza (Brazil)
Johan Brunstrom (Sweden) & Donald Young (USA)
The Bryans are one of two teams in the field to have won a title in 2015. The twins from California claimed the title last month in Delray Beach, while the duo of Fyrstenberg and Gonzalez won in Memphis.
Two other individuals won titles with other partners this year – Daniell won in Monpellier (with Artem Sitak) and Sa won in Buenos Aires (with Jarkko Nieminen).
These 10 teams are the initial entrants into the 16-team field. Four more teams will join via the on-site sign in at River Oaks, and two additional teams will be awarded wild cards into the field.
The tournament gets underway with qualifying April 4-5 before main draw play starts April 6.
