The longest-running annual sporting event in Los Angeles makes its return to UCLA this week and with it come some very prominent names.
The 83rd LA Tennis Open kicks off today at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The tournament features a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles bracket.
“When it came to UCLA, it began an unprecedented growth because of that partnership and location and all the good things that come with it,” tournament director Bob Kramer said. “It’s a wonderful home for us, and it’s our permanent home for the tennis association.”
The tournament benefits UCLA as well as the Southern California Tennis Association.
The top four singles players, who will each receive first-round byes, are No. 1 Tommy Haas from Germany, No. 2 Mardy Fish, the highest-ranked American, No. 3 Dmitry Tursunov from Russia and No. 4 Dudi Sela from Israel.
Haas, the No. 20 player in the world, has won twice in Los Angeles and is the 2000 Olympic silver medalist. He made it to the fourth round of this year’s Wimbledon before being knocked out by eventual champion Roger Federer.
No. 22 in the world, Fish is a three-time ATP World Tour champion and made it to the 2008 US Open semifinals. This will be his fifth appearance in Los Angeles.
Tursonov, No. 23 in the world, has six ATP tour wins, and Sela, who is No. 29 in the world, made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon this year.
Also highlighting the bracket is Marat Safin, a former No. 1 player in the world. This will probably mark his last appearance in Los Angeles, as he will retire at the end of the 2009 season.
For SoCal tennis fans, a familiar face will return to the court, as local product Taylor Dent is working on a comeback after being sidelined for three years after two consecutive back surgeries.
“It’s nice to kind of play in your backyard,” Dent said. “You get a lot of support and with that support comes a little more pressure to do well and the expectations are always on.”
Hailing from Newport Beach, Dent has four career titles and received a wild-card bid to enter the LATO field.
“I don’t feel like I can call it a comeback yet,” Dent said. “I’m still battling away and having mixed results. Once I can get into the top 50 or top 20, then it will be a comeback.”
Highlighting the doubles draw will be the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, who are the top-ranked tandem in the world and have won in Los Angeles four times. Most recently, they won the this year’s Australian Open doubles championship and made it to the semifinals at the French Open.
The Bryans will be competing with the twin towers of 6-foot-6-inch Sam Querrey and 6-foot-9-inch John Isner, who will also represent America.
But most likely to be drawing large crowds at the tournament will be the five legends matches.
Fourteen-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras will play against Safin in an exhibition tonight. Sampras put together a streak of eight straight Grand Slam wins and finished the year ranked No. 1 a record six times. He is considered one of the greatest players ever.
Joining the legends group is four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier, who is another former No. 1. Michael Chang, the youngest to ever win a Grand Slam at age 17, and six-time Grand Slam winner Stefan Edberg will also play. Those legends matches will take place on Wednesday, Thursday evening and Saturday evening.