HOUSTON – Houston's Michael Russell will headline the first day of main draw play at the 2011 US Men's Clay Court Championship on Monday at River Oaks Country Club. Russell will take stadium court at 6 p.m. to face Russian Igor Andreev.
Other players in action Monday include former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler along with No. 7 seed Pablo Cuevas and No. 8 seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Play begins at 11 a.m. on Monday with the final round of qualifying on the outside courts. Those matches include four Americans who are vying to join their eight countrymen in the main draw along with 2007 champion Ivo Karlovic who fired 29 aces in Sunday's win over Jose Acasuso. It will not count as a tournament record because it took place in qualifying, but that tally is five more than the tournament record.
In addition to Russell headling Monday night, a preliminary schedule for the Tuesday-Thursday night sessions has also been announced (subject to change):
TUESDAY - The World No. 1 doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan will begin their title defense against James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin at 6 p.m. followed by American James Blake battling Argentine Carlos Berlocq.
WEDNESDAY - Americans Sam Querrey, the second seed, and John Isner, the fourth seed, will both play thier singles matches during the night session that will start at 6 p.m. Both have first round byes and are awaiting their opponents.
THURSDAY - Top seed and former champion Mardy Fish, who is playing his first tournament as the No. 1 ranked American player, will be part of the night session that will begin at 6 p.m.
RESULTS - SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 2011
Qualifying Second Round
(1) Alex Bogomolov (USA) d Nicolas Massu (CHI) 64 61
(2) Donald Young (USA) d Peter Polansky (CAN) 63 64
Frank Dancevic (CAN) d (3) Marinko Matosevic (AUS) 76(10) 61
(4) Paul Capdeville (CHI) d Alex Kuznetsov (USA) 76(6) 62
(6) Franco Skugor (CRO) d Daniel Yoo (KOR) 46 60 62
(7) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) d Jose Acasuso (ARG) 76(6) 67(9) 61
Rajeev Ram (USA) d (8) Grega Zemlja (SLO) 64 63
Tim Smyczek (USA) d Peter Polansky (CAN) 46 62 64
ORDER OF PLAY - MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011
STADIUM start 12:00 noon
Carlos Berlocq (ARG) / Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs Jamie Murray (GBR) / Mischa Zverev (GER)
Ricardo Mello (BRA) vs [7] Pablo Cuevas (URU)
[8] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs Rainer Schuettler (GER)
Not Before 6:00 PM
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs Michael Russell (USA)
[WC] Denis Kudla (USA) / Donald Young (USA) vs [4] Franco Ferreiro (BRA) / Andre Sa (BRA)
COURT 3 start 11:00 am
Qualifying - (2) Donald Young (USA) vs (7) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) - Final Round Qualifying
Qualifying - (4) Paul Capdeville (CHI) vs Rajeev Ram (USA) - Final Round Qualifying
COURT 7 start 11:00 am
Qualifying - Frank Dancevic (CAN) vs Tim Smyczek (USA) - Final Round Qualifying
Qualifying - (1) Alex Bogomolov Jr. (USA) or N Massu (CHI) vs (6)F Skugor (CRO) - Final Round Qualifying
Tickets for select individual main draw sessions at the 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship remain available. The Champ Pass and season ticket packages have sold out for the 2011 event. Information on tickets can be found at www.mensclaycourt.com or by calling 713.527.0345. Patrons with tickets they will not able to use may return them to the River Oaks box office. Those tickets will then be on sale at the box office for face value with the entire purchase price being donated to the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Childrens.
US Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club
The 102nd competition for the US Men’s Clay Court Championship will be held April 4-10, 2011, at River Oaks Country Club in Houston. Started by the USTA in 1910, it has been held at numerous venues around the country. The tournament has been held in Houston since 2001, and will be held at River Oaks Country Club for the third straight year. Prior to hosting the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, River Oaks Country Club hosted its own event, The River Oaks International. Started in 1931, the River Oaks International roster of former champions includes Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, Guillermo Vilas and James Blake. The 2011 US Men’s Clay Court Championship will be the 77th tournament at River Oaks, with the club hosting a tournament every year since 1946 after a four-year lapse due to the war. More information is available at www.mensclaycourt.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mensclaycourt.