Isner, Opelka & Ruud Headline Houston Field

Top 20 stars Casper Ruud and Reilly Opelka will be in action at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, an ATP 250 tournament taking place from 4-10 April at River Oaks Country Club.

North America’s only clay-court tournament on the ATP Tour returns to River Oaks for the first time since 2019. The 2022 field includes a pair of former champions in Cristian Garin (2019) and John Isner (2013).

World No. 8 and 2019 River Oaks finalist Ruud is among the top-ranked players entered in the field. This year’s participants have won a combined 42 tour-level titles, with 12 coming on clay.

Isner is one of eight Americans signed up on the initial player entry list. Headlining the US contingent is Opelka, who won his third career ATP Tour title in Dallas last month and reached the Delray Beach final the following week.

The 19 players on the initial entry list represent 10 countries and will feature nine competitors playing at River Oaks for the first time.

“Our player reveal gives us more excitement that we are finally returning to River Oaks for the first time in three years,” Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer said. “We are thrilled to welcome well-accomplished ATP Tour stars along with great talent making their debut at River Oaks. We also cannot wait to welcome back our fans to River Oaks in less than a month.”

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Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has been awarded the first main draw wild card entry to the event.

The winner of six career tour-level singles titles, Krygios reached the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this month. Kyrgios, a US Clay quarterfinalist in 2018, has three times finished as runner-up in his career, including at one previous ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati in 2017.

Reigning Australian Open doubles finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell highlight the 14 doubles teams on the initial entry list for the clay-court tournament.

The event will also feature four all-American doubles teams. The American teams include Sam Querrey, the 2012 River Oaks doubles champion, and partner Steve Johnson, a two-time singles champion.

Former NCAA doubles victor Mackenzie McDonald joins forces with 2020 Roland Garros doubles quarter-finalist Tommy Paul, while 2018 River Oaks doubles finalist Frances Tiafoe unites with four-time ATP Tour titleholder Nicholas Monroe. Marcos Giron, one of five players in both the singles and doubles main draws at River Oaks, will compete with former NCAA doubles champion Hunter Reese.

Defending River Oaks doubles champion Santiago Gonzalez will go on a quest for a repeat run with 27-time ATP Tour titleholder Lukasz Kubot.

“We are thrilled to reveal our 2022 doubles field,” Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer said. “With doubles being popular to play, our fans will enjoy the competition of former River Oaks champions, NCAA doubles winners and the rest of the great talent in the field.”

Two-time champion Steve Johnson and the tournament’s winningest active player Sam Querrey headline the initial entry list for qualifying.

A two-round qualifier featuring 16 players will be held opening weekend, 2-3 April, with four players advancing to the tournament’s main draw, which begins Monday, 4 April and runs until the championship on Sunday, 10 April.

Johnson won consecutive titles at River Oaks, in 2017 and 2018, to be the first repeat champion at US Clay since Andy Roddick in 2001-02. The winner of two NCAA singles titles while playing at the University of Southern California, he owns an 11-5 record in Houston. Johnson has won four ATP Tour titles during his career.

Querrey has a 17-10 record in his career at US Clay to lead all active players for match wins at the event. Along the way, he has reached a pair of finals (2010 and 2015) while also claiming the doubles title in 2012. He has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals while also twice being a quarter-finalist there. He owns 10 tour-level crowns.

Two other qualifying entrants have previously reached the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship semi-finals: Daniel Elahi Galan as a qualifying wild card in 2019 and Pablo Cuevas in 2011.