HOUSTON – Ten Americans will head to River Oaks Country Club in six weeks for the 2019 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. They are among the 21 ATP stars included on the initial entry list for the 28-player ATP 250 tournament that will be contested April 8-14.
The American contingent is led by World No. 9 John Isner, the 2013 champion at River Oaks, and US Clay’s two-time defending champion Steve Johnson. France’s Jeremy Chardy is the highest ranked non-American on the list, and is joined by notable foreign entries including 2007 US Clay champion Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, former French Open junior champion Christian Garin of Chile and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
Some fast facts about the 2019 US Clay field include:
• 10 Americans
• 10 different countries represented
• Three past US Clay champions (Steve Johnson – 2018, 2017; John Isner – 2013; Ivo Karlovic – 2007)
• Three past US Clay finalists (Tenny Sandgren – 2018; Sam Querrey – 2015, 2010; John Isner – 2012)
• Four US Clay debuts (Hugo Dellien, Christian Garin, Cameron Norrie, Bernard Tomic)
• Two 2019 title winners (Tennys Sandgren – Auckland, Reilly Opelka – New York)
• Nine players aged 25 or younger (Youngest are 21-year-olds Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka)
• Six players aged 30 or older (Oldest is 39-year-old Ivo Karlovic, who turns 40 on Thursday)
• Six Junior Grand Slam winners (Taylor Fritz – 2015 US Open; Reilly Opelka – 2015 Wimbledon; Christian Garin – 2013 French Open; Nick Kyrgios – 2013 Australian Open; Bernard Tomic – 2009 US Open, 2008 Australian Open; Jeremy Chardy – 2005 Wimbledon)
• Three NCAA singles champions (Mackenzie McDonald – 2016, UCLA; Steve Johnson – 2011-12, USC; Bradley Klahn – 2010, Stanford)
“We are eager for these ATP stars to arrive in Houston for our 85th tournament at River Oaks,” said Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer. “This field is a terrific blend of established veterans as well as up-and-coming stars. We enjoy having familiar faces in our field, but also look forward to welcoming the newcomers for the first time.”
Here is the initial entry list of 21 players for the 2019 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship:
(ATP Rank) Name, Age, Country • Mini bio
(33) Jeremy Chardy, 32, France • Owns one ATP title; 2017 Davis Cup champion; 3-2 at US Clay
(59) Pablo Cuevas, 33, Uruguay • Six-time ATP champion, all on clay; 3-2 at US Clay
(95) Hugo Dellien, 25, Bolivia • Owns three Challenger titles; Making US Clay debut
(46) Taylor Fritz, 21, USA • 2015 US Open junior champion; 2016 ATP Memphis finalist; 3-1 at US Clay
(103) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 35, Spain • Five-time ATP title winner; 3-2 at US Clay
(92) Christian Garin, 22, Chile • 2013 French Open junior champion; Making US Clay debut
(93) Ryan Harrison, 26, USA • 2017 ATP Memphis champion; 4-6 at US Clay
(9) John Isner, 33, USA • 14 career titles; 2018 Wimbledon SFs; 15-10 at US Clay, 2013 champion
(36) Steve Johnson, 29, USA • Winner of four ATP titles; 11-4 at US Clay, 2017-18 champion
(89) Ivo Karlovic, 39, Croatia • Turns 40 on Feb. 28; Eight ATP titles; 10-6 at US Clay, 2007 champion
(90) Bradley Klahn, 28, USA • Won 2010 NCAA singles title for Stanford; Owns seven Challenger titles; 0-1 at US Clay
(68) Denis Kudla, 26, USA • Owns six career Challenger titles; 2-3 at US Clay
(72) Nick Kyrgios, 23, Australia • Owns four career ATP titles; Won Australian Open junior title; 1-1 at US Clay
(71) Mackenzie McDonald, 23, USA • Won 2016 NCAA singles and doubles titles at UCLA; 0-1 at US Clay
(75) Yoshihito Nishioka, 23, Japan • Won first ATP title at 2018 Shenzhen; 0-1 at US Clay
(64) Cameron Norrie, 23, Great Britain • Finalist at Auckland in January; No. 1 collegiate player at TCU; Making US Clay debut
(58) Reilly Opelka, 21, USA • Won first career title at New York Open earlier this month; 0-2 at US Clay
(57) Sam Querrey, 31, USA • Winner of 10 ATP titles; 14-9 at US Clay, finalist in 2010, 2015
(79) Tennys Sandgren, 27, USA • Won first ATP title at Auckland in January; 4-2 at US Clay, 2018 finalist
(79) Jordan Thompson, 24, Australia • Winner of seven Challenger titles; 0-1 at US Clay
(83) Bernard Tomic, 26, Australia • Winner of four ATP titles; Making US Clay debut
Three more players will be awarded wild cards to join the field while four others will earn entry through the two-round qualifying tournament at River Oaks April 6-7.
The 16-team doubles field will be headlined by six-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan. That initial entry list will be released in March.
Limited tickets remain for select sessions of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship at www.mensclaycourt.com. The tournament is once again utilizing the Ticket Turnback Program to allow patrons holding tickets they cannot use to release those for resale, with the proceeds being donated to The Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.
