John Isner and Nick Kyrgios to headline U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is one of the oldest running tournaments in the world, starting in Omaha way back in 1910 and standing as the last ATP tournament in North America staged on clay. The event had changed numerous locations in the following decades before it settled in Indianapolis for two decades between 1969-1987. The tournament moved to Houston in 2001 and stayed there ever since at the beautiful River Oaks Country Club (the organizers completed the new complex in March 2009), with a solid field of players fighting for the title every April.
It became a part of the official ATP Tour in 1970, staying in the calendar ever since with Manuel Orantes, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courrier, Andy Roddick, John Isner and Tommy Haas among the winners. 2019 edition promises to be a high-quality one as well, with some big names already signed to play for the title at the River Oaks Country Club. After two-time defending champion Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, the organizers managed to bring Taylor Fritz, Cameron Norrie, Mackenzie McDonald and Yoshihito Nishioka and the line-up had just become much stronger when they announced 2013 champion John Isner and Nick Kyrgios on Thursday.
John has won the first match in New York after six straight losses and he is eager to work on his game in the following months and stay in the top-10 after a great 2018 season that saw him winning the first Masters 1000 title and playing at the ATP Finals at the age of 33. Isner will compete in Houston for the 12th time in a row after making a debut in 2008, losing the final to Juan Monaco in 2012 before going all the way a year later, edging Jack Sock before toppling Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5 for his first and only title on clay. In the last two seasons, John lost in the quarter-final after a great fight against Ernesto Escobedo and Steve Johnson, falling both times in the deciding set tie break.
The struggling Aussie Nick Kyrgios is ranked outside the top-60 for the first time since August 2014 and he has won just one match so far in 2019. Nick returns to Houston for the second time, losing the ground after the opening set and falling to Ivo Karlovic in three sets.
“We are pleased to welcome John and Nick back to the event,” said Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer. “John has played at River Oaks every year we have hosted the event, so it wouldn’t be the same without him. We’re also thrilled Nick will be returning. He generated a lot of excitement last year in his debut, and I suspect the fans will once again be eager to see him in action.”
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2BzWp5m
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