Atp Houston Us Clay Court Championships Currently based in Houston, Texas the US Mens Clay Court Championships is at the time of writing the only tour level clay court event to be played in the United States of America. The tournament itself was founded in 1910 after a section of the United States Lawn Tennis Association called the Western Lawn Tennis association lobbied the main USLTA to provide an event to establish more clay tennis courts in the West of the country. The argument was that clay courts were less expensive to both install and maintain than the current crop of grass courts in the country, and that the money saved coupled be reinvested into the sport to allow them to develop the game at an increased rate. The first incarnation of the event was held in Omaha at the Field Club and attracted a crowd on 5000 for the finals. Due to the success of the tournament more players began playing on the surface which prompted a number of new clay court events to be founded, and 4 years after it was founded the tournament was moved to the Tennis Club in Cincinnati. Since then it has been played in a number of locations before finally settling in Texas in 2001. For the first seven years it was hosted in the state (from 2001 to 2007) the tournament was based at the Westside Tennis Club. In the May of 2007 the US Tennis Association decided that the tournament should be moved to the River Oaks Country Club, where it remains today. The total prize fund for the ATP 250 Event stands at half a million US dollars, with the winner of the event receiving $ 79,000 alongside their 250 ranking points. The show court stadium can accommodate 3000 people, with an additional court employing temporary seating for 500 during the tournament. Pre 2008 the court was constructed using red clay similar to that used during the Roland Garros grand slam event held annually in France, however the surface used is now Har Tru clay which is firmer and harder than the more common European clay. This has meant that in recent years players not particularly accustomed to performing well on clay have excelled in Houston. The American players in particular tend to do well here, with 5 of the 10 titles going to home based players (Andy Roddick in 2001, 2002 & 2005, Andre Agassi in 2003 and Mardy Fish in 2006) and at least one American in 9 of the 10 finals contested, the exception being in 2007 when Croatian Ivo Karlovic won against Argentine Mariano Zabaleta in the final. 2011 sees another American enter the event as both top seed and pre tournament favourite. Mardy Fish, a previous winner here and at present the top ranked American player on the ATP tour, will be carrying the main hope of the home crowd with compatriot Sam Querrey the second seed also expected to do well. The field of 32 will take to the court on the 4th of April in what many see as the half way point for players to transition from the north American hard courts to the clay courts of the upcoming European swing. For those looking to keep an eye on the event when it begins, live tennis scores will be available online to allow you to follow the matches point by point. Tennis writer and enthusiast and all round fan of the ATP World tour. I enjoy writing and blogging about my favourite sport latest tennis scores tennis scores latest tennis scores
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:11:49 +0000
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