Former US Clay Champion Granollers Leads Qualifying Field
Five Americans to Play in Free Event
HOUSTON – Former champion Marcel Granollers headlines the initial entry list of players for the qualifying tournament of the
Granollers won the title in 2008, the first year the U.S. Clay event moved to River Oaks Country Club. He will participate in the two-round qualifying tournament held April 6-7 seeking to advance into the main draw of the tournament which will take place April 8-14.
Admission to the qualifying rounds is free.
Here is a look at the initial entry list of 14 players for qualifying. Two other players will be awarded wild cards to join this field:
(ATP Rank) Name, Age, Country • Mini bio
(140) Alex Bolt, 26, Australia • Winner of two career Challenger titles
(131) Alexander Bublik, 21, Kazakhstan • Winner of five career Challenger titles
(150) Christoher Eubanks, 22, USA • Two-time ACC Player of the Year at Georgia Tech
(122) Bjorn Fratangelo, 25, USA • 2011 French Open junior champion
(173) Marcos Giron, 25, USA • 2014 NCAA singles champion at UCLA
(111) Marcel Granollers, 32, Spain • 2008 US Clay Champion, Winner of four ATP titles
(170) Mitchell Krueger, 25, USA • Texas native whose father played at Texas A&M
(129) Henri Laaksonen, 26, Switzerland • Winner of four career Challenger titles
(107) Paolo Lorenzi, 34, Italy • 2013 US Clay quarterfinalist; Winner of 21 Challengers
(138) Peter Polansky, 30, Canada • Winner of three career Challenger titles
(172) Roberto Quiroz, 27, Ecuador • Finalist at Mexico City Challenger in 2018
(146) Noah Rubin, 23, USA • 2014 Wimbledon junior champion
(98) Casper Ruud, 25, Norway • Son of 1996 River Oaks champion Christian Ruud
(177) James Ward, 32, Great Britain • Winner of four career Challenger titles
The four qualifiers will join the 28-player main draw. The initial entry list of 21 players was announced last month. Three players will be granted wild cards for the main draw field.
This year is the 85th tournament River Oaks has hosted. The River Oaks International Tennis Tournament began in 1931, and merged with the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, which started in 1910, when the latter moved to River Oaks in 2008.
The 16-team doubles field will be headlined by six-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan. That initial entry list will be released in March.
