After spending the last few months in Europe, several of the top
tennis players in the world will play at the Mercedes-Benz Cup
presented by Countrywide, which begins today at UCLA’s Los
Angeles Tennis Center.
The Mercedes-Benz Cup marks the first event of the new US Open
Series, a six-week span leading up to the US Open which contains an
ATP tournament on U.S. soil each week.
The Mercedes-Benz Cup will also mark the return of tennis legend
Andre Agassi, who has been sidelined for over a month with a hip
injury that caused him to miss Wimbledon.
“The jury is still out on my hip and it’s something
I’ve struggled with on and off for a while now,” Agassi
said during a conference call last week. “I’m hoping
this time off, combined with being back on the hard courts, will be
a good opportunity for me to feel a lot better.”
Agassi, the featured name in the tournament field and the No. 1
seed, won the Mercedes-Benz Cup in 2001 and 2002, but did not play
in last year’s tournament. He has won eight Grand Slam
titles, including 58 ATP tournaments overall.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than Andre, a man who has
contributed so much to the sport,” said Bob Kramer,
Mercedes-Benz Cup tournament director. “He brings a special
quality and energy. He makes an emotional connection with
fans.”
The Mercedes-Benz Cup, which lasts through Sunday, also features
many other key figures. Americans Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish, Robby
Ginepri and Vincent Spadea, all in the tournament field, are
considered to be among the next group of promising young American
tennis players.
“That’s an incentive deep down (to be known as the
top American player),” Dent said. “We all want to be
the best in the game.”
Dent, an Orange County native, is the tournament’s No. 7
seed and will play Great Britain’s Greg Rusedski in the first
round.
“It’s awesome to play in Southern California,”
Dent said. “I have a lot of friends down here who are coming
out and supporting me.”
Also in the draw are defending champion Wayne Ferreira (South
Africa) and No. 2 seed Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand), who play
each other in the first round.
The doubles’ field includes the No. 1 doubles team in the
world, Bob and Mike Bryan. They won five titles in 2003 and have
already won four this year.
“We’re excited to be back here,” said Bob
Bryan, who along with his brother grew up in Camarillo.
Notable withdrawals from the singles field include Australian
Lleyton Hewitt, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, and American James
Blake. The tournament’s timing helps explain why many of the
marquee players dropped out. Usually, the event is held in late
July or early August. But with the Olympics scheduled later next
month, the tournament was pushed earlier to this week. With
Wimbledon concluding just two weeks ago, many players are taking
time off to either recover from injuries or rest up for the
Olympics.
With some of the top international players absent, the
tournament will have a more national presence than usual this year,
also partly because of the United States Tennis Association and
ESPN. The USTA organized the US Open Series, and ESPN will televise
the quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches.
“The USTA is trying to make the sport easier to follow and
getting the sport into more people’s homes,” Kramer
said. “Being televised on ESPN makes a huge difference. Also,
it’s great we’re a part of the US Open Series, a
campaign to bring awareness to the sport.”
As usual, the Gibson Baldwin “Night at the Net”
charity event will take place Monday night, which supports
MusiCares, the charitable foundation of the Recording Academy.
Celebrities scheduled to appear at “Night at the Net”
include Dr. Phil McGraw, Paul Rodriguez, Jillian Barberie and Jon
Lovitz.
There were some minor changes to the traditional Los Angeles
Tennis Center facility this year. The courts are now green (instead
of blue); the tournament area extends past the Acosta Center in
order to include more interactive displays; there is expanded
seating at Strauss Stadium, and there is an indoor court at Pauley
Pavilion dedicated strictly to tennis lessons.