HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 4, 2009) Gaston Gaudio, the 2004 French Open Champion, has entered the qualifying field for the 2009 US Men’s Clay Court Championship at River Oaks Country Club. Gaudio, who owns eight career clay court titles, will face Dusan Vemic in the opening round of qualifying in the third match from 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Seventeen Americans are in the qualifying draw, and are six of the eight seeds for the qualifying event. Also participating are three Houston-area teens: Harry Fowler, Ben Chen and Daniel Whitehead. Fowler is ranked No. 41 in the world for juniors. Chen is the No. 1 Boys 18 player in Texas, and Whitehead is No. 3. They have both committed to the University of Texas to play tennis next fall.
The first round of qualifying takes place on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. The second round will take place Sunday and the final round will take place Monday. Admission to the qualifying matches is free!
While the qualifying action is taking place over the weekend, many of the main draw players will also be around the River Oaks Country Club preparing for next week’s tournament.
“This opening weekend is a great opportunity for tennis fans to not only see some of the next generation of tennis stars but it also offers a rare chance to see today’s stars as they get ready for an event,” Tournament Director Van Barry said. “Qualifying always has a unique feel to it because the chance to play in a big league event is so important to a player as they try to break through.”
No comments:
Post a Comment