Atlanta tennis tournament shifted to the Racquet Club of the South
The Atlanta tennis tournament will be held at the Racquet Club of the South next year, as announced on Tuesday by the officials of the event. The competition each year starts on July 18th and ends on July 24th.
Previously held at the Atlanta Athletic Club, the competition will once again launch the Olympus United States Open Series year.
Mardy Fish from the United States of America won the Atlanta tennis competition in 2010 whereas his compatriot, John Inser finished runner-up. Both of them have already confirmed their participation in next year’s tournament after
ending in the top 20 in the season-end South African Airways ATP ranking list.
The professional tennis player from the United States of America, John Isner came to the limelight after playing and eventually winning the lengthiest tennis match in the history of game during the opening round of the grass court
Grand Slam tournament in London earlier in 2010. It concluded after three days of action. The marathon contest between him and Nicolas Mahut featured a total of 163 games. John is also a former University of Georgia Bulldog and NCAA winner. With a dominating
opening serve, the tall 6’9" native of Greensboro, N.C. won his first ATP singles title on the tour in Auckland this season. The right hander was also named to the Davis Cup side of his country on the very first occasion in 2010. He is currently ranked number
19th in the South African Airways ATP list.
Mardy Fish, on the other hand, also had a resurgent season in 2010. He picked up a total of two single trophies and two double crowns this year. Currently ranked number sixteen in the South African Airways ATP list, Mardy was also
the Olympic silver medalist in singles at the Athens games back in 2004. He has been ranked as high as number twelve in the world.
As far as the new venue of the competition is concerned, the Racquet Club of the South is famous as one of the premier tennis clubs in the city of Georgia. The facility also hosted a men’s World Championship Tennis event during
the 1980s as well as the Fed Cup back in 1990.
The importance of the Racquet Club of the South can be highlighted from the fact that a great variety of top class professional tennis contenders have played at RCS, such as Thomas Muster, Bryan Brothers, Jim Courier apart from
Sam Querrey and John Isner.
Rex Maynard who is the Chairman of the event, while talking about the changed location reflected, “We are extremely pleased to bring the Atlanta Tennis Tournament to the Racquet Club of the South. The club’s extensive experience
in hosting professional tournaments over many years makes it a very desirable location to showcase the top players in the world.”
“With one very successful year under our belts, we are aiming to improve our customer‘s experience. We know our new host will provide our partners, spectators and players with spacious and comfortable indoor facilities along with
an attractive outdoor area with numerous courts. Some people think we were in Atlanta for just one year, but nothing could be further from the truth as we are here for the long haul,” said the Director of the tournament, Bill Oakes.
The competition will make use of the venue’s long clubhouse along with large areas of shade to provide the utmost comfort to the spectators during the hot weather conditions in July.
The Association of Tennis Professionals formally awarded the ATP 250 sanction Atlanta Tennis tournament to the USTA Southern Section back in December last year. The event features a field of twenty eight single contenders and sixteen
team doubles draw.
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