2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup tournament is the first event which features both the Association of Tennis Professionals [ATP] and the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] after the Australian Open in January. It will
be held from 13 February to 19 February at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Tennessee.
The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is an ATP World Tour 500 series sponsored by Regions Financial. It has been played since 1976, and this year’s tournament is the 35th edition. It was previously known as the Volvo Championships, the Kroger
St. Jude Championship and the U.S. Indoor Championships. The Cellular South Cup, meanwhile, is the WTA division of the tournament. It is an international-tier event, and this is the 25th edition. This tournament was originally played in Oklahoma
City, but was bought and renamed the Cellular South Cup in 2002. It is sponsored by Cellular South.
Both the events are played on indoor hard courts, and they both support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships has total prize money of US$757,000, while the Cellular South Cup features US$220,000.
The 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships will feature American tennis pro Sam Querrey as the defending champion. The World Number 17 defeated compatriot John Isner in last year’s final, winning the title from a set down. He will enter the tournament
in need of a victory, especially since he has lost all three of the matches he has played so far in 2011. Second seed Fernando Verdasco is also motivated to win, since his first round match is against wild card Milos Raonic; the 20-year-old defeated Verdasco
in straight sets at last week’s San Jose final. 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has also returned to the tour after a year of injuries, and his first round match against runner-up, John Isner, is expected to have a significant impact on his comeback.
The Cellular South Cup title for 2010 would have been defended by former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova, but she has opted to abstain from the tournament due to injuries. Consequently, the top seed is World Number 56, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, of the Czech
Republic. The second seed is Swiss pro, Sofia Arvidsson, who was defeated by Sharapova in straight sets at last year’s final. Therefore, the World Number 60 will be looking to defeat her opposition for a chance to win the tournament title. At the same time,
World Number 61 and Fed Cup player Melanie Oudin is also strongly motivated to perform well at the Memphis event. Her performance against Belgium during the Fed Cup weekend left something to be desired, and a victory on home turf would certainly bolster her
confidence and her tennis resume, not to mention her position on the rankings.
The tournament has been underway since Sunday, and promises to attract a large audience. Wild cards for the men’s event are, apart from del Potro, local player. James Blake, and up-and-coming Canadian, Raonic. On the women’s side, wild cards include American
players Beatrice Capra and Catherine Harrison, as well as Croatian tennis pro Ajla Tomljanovic. Raonic and del Petro in particular, are expected to increase the publicity afforded to the Memphis event.
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