John Isner Top Seed at River Oaks ATP Tennis • Buy Ticket • Free Qualies • Draw • 13 American Men In Houston Event

John Isner of the USA in action against Alexander Zverev of Germany during their finals match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 01 April 2018. EPA-EFE/RHONA WISE

 

 

American John Isner Top Seed at River Oaks

Play Begins Saturday With FREE Qualifying

 

HOUSTON – For the third time in five years, American John Isner is the No. 1 seed at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. Isner is one of a tournament record-tying six Americans to be seeded in the draw, which was released Friday and can be found below.

 

Isner, the 2013 winner at River Oaks, is one of five former champions in the draw, being joined by Steve Johnson (2017), Jack Sock (2015), Fernando Verdasco (2014) and Ivo Karlovic (2007).

 

There are 13 Americans in the draw, the most to play US Clay since 2003 when 15 were in the field. That number could grow this weekend, as nine Americans are in the two-round qualifying tournament that will see four players added to the main draw.

 

The qualifying event begins Saturday at 10 am at River Oaks, and is free for spectators.

 

ORDER OF PLAY – Saturday, April 7

Qualifying – First Round

Court 3 – 10 am Start

[WC] Christopher Eubanks (USA) vs [5] Bradley Klahn (USA)

[1] Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) vs [WC] Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan)

[2] Denis Kudla (USA) vs Reilly Opelka (USA)

[3] Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) vs Stefan Kozlov (USA)

 

Court 7 – 10 am Start

Evan King (USA) vs [6] Dennis Novikov (USA)

[4] Michael Mmoh (USA) vs Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia)

[Alt] Dominik Koepfer (Germany) vs [7] Akira Santillan (Australia)

Mitchell Krueger (USA) vs [8] Darian King (Barbados)

 

Singles Main Draw

Qualifying Draw

 

NOTES

– The top seed in qualifying is Cameron Norrie, a native of Great Britain who reached the No. 1 ranking in college tennis last year while playing for TCU.

– Qualifying action Saturday also features the 2017 US Clay runner-up Thomaz Bellucci.

– Youth will be served in Saturday’s matches, with half of the 16 players in action being 22-years-old or younger.

– Limited tickets remain available for select main draw sessions of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. To purchase tickets or for more information visit www.mensclaycourt.com.

 

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 84th time when the 2018 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship is held April 7-15. 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 2018 tournament will be the 108th competition for the Clay Court Championship. The 2017 singles title was won by American Steve Johnson while the doubles champions were Chile’s Julio Peralta and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos. The tournament beneficiary are the National Junior Tennis & Learning programs of the Houston Tennis Association. More information about the tournament can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com.