By Jay Betsill
The fourth annual Irving Tennis Classic announced the early commitments for the event that takes place March 16-22 at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas. The acceptance list for the ATP Challenger Tour event includes three former Top 10 players and 19 other players currently ranked in the Top 92 Emirates ATP Rankings.
For the full Irving Tennis Classic Press Release, see below:
IRVING, TX — The 2015 Irving Tennis Classic, an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour event held annually at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, announced the acceptance list (current entries) for the fourth annual tournament, which include three former Top 10 players, Marcos Baghdatis, Radek Stepanek and Jurgen Melzer (2013 Dallas Tennis Classic singles and doubles champion), and 19 other players currently ranked in the Top 92 Emirates ATP Rankings.
Other notable players coming to Irving include the 2014 Irving Tennis Classic Champion, Lukas Rosol who currently holds a Top 30 singles ranking, as well as Dallas-resident and current World No. 41 Benjamin Becker. Tim Smyczek will return to the Metroplex after claiming his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title in Dallas earlier this month at the RBC Tennis Championships.
“We are extremely pleased with the depth of the tournament acceptance list, we have a super strong field this year,” said Zoltan Papp, Irving Tennis Classic tournament director. “We have two players in No. 56 Jack Sock and No. 73 Radek Stepanek who have each won two Grand Slam doubles titles, and last years finalist No.44 Steve Johnson returns as one of the most improved players on the ATP World Tour and is currently the No. 3 American (behind No. 20 Isner and No. 40 Querrey).”
The Irving Tennis Classic is a Challenger Level Tour event that will feature a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The main draw is compromised of 22 direct acceptances, four wildcards, four qualifiers and two special exempts. Unlike other Challenger events, top 50 ranked players can play in the Irving Tennis Classic without obtaining a wildcard, as they prepare for the Miami Open.
The City of Irving and BMW will return as main sponsors, and the tournament will take place March 16-22 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas. Tickets are being sold through the tournament website at www.irvingtennisclassic.com and proceeds are benefiting Emily’s Place.
Player Acceptance List (As of February 25, 2015)
PLAYER COUNTRY RANKING
Rosol, Lukas CZE 30
Muller, Gilles LUX 35
Becker, Benjamin GER 41
Johnson, Steve USA 44
Thiem, Dominic AUT 47
Janowicz, Jerzy POL 49
Stakhovsky, Sergiy UKR 53
Sock, Jack USA 56
Kukushkin, Mikhail KAZ 58
Baghdatis, Marcos CYP 62
Schwartzman, Diego ARG 64
Andujar, Pablo ESP 67
Ramos-Vinolas, Albert ESP 68
Bellucci, Thomaz BRA 71
Stepanek, Radek CZE 73
Struff, Jan-Lennard GER 76
Matosevic, Marinko AUS 80
Smyczek, Tim USA 81
Coric, Borna CRO 84
Melzer, Jurgen AUT 86
Dzumhur, Damir BIH 87
Gonzalez, Alejandro COL 92
