DELRAY BEACH, FL: Four of the current Top 20 singles players, the greatest doubles team of all time, and the 2001 Wimbledon champion are all included in a group of players who have signed on with the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian® Las Vegas to play in the 22nd annual event next February.

The world’s only combined ATP World Tour and ATP Champions Tour event will be played February 14 – 23, 2014 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center. It will be the 16th year that the tournament will be held in Delray Beach.

The 32-player ATP World Tour field will include Top 20 stars Tommy Haas (No. 12), John Isner (No. 14), Kei Nishikori (No. 18) and Kevin Anderson (No. 20). Janko Tipsarevic, last year’s ATP world No. 8, former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt and former world No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis are also among the early entries. The remaining Delray Beach field, including three wild cards, will be announced in January.

Hewitt (1999), Haas (2006), Nishikori (2008) and Anderson (2012) are former Delray Beach champions.

The world No. 1 Bryan Brothers doubles team will highlight the 16-team doubles field, as the popular twins return to Delray Beach for the seventh time after winning titles in 2009 and 2010.

Bombastic Croat Goran Ivanisevic, the only Wimbledon champion in history to have won on a wild card, will join 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick and four other former ATP stars in Delray Beach’s 5-year-old ATP Champions event. Ivanesivic is playing in Delray Beach for the first time.

Roddick committed to his inaugural ATP Champions Tour event in August, while Hall of Famer Mats Wilander is returning for a fourth run at the title. The trio of former two-time Delray Beach ATP World Tour champion Jan-Michael Gambill (2001 & 2003), former French Open finalist Mikael Pernfors and Boca Raton’s Aaron Krickstein round out the field. The competition will be divided into an “American” group (Roddick, Krickstein & Gambill) and a “European” group (Ivanesevic, Wilander, Penfors), with the winners playing a “USA vs Europe” championship match.

“These are undoubtedly the best fields we’ve put together collectively in both our ATP events,” said tournament director Mark Baron. “We continue to strengthen our ATP World Tour field and we’re excited about the ATP Champions Tour battle within the American and European groups and think it’s going to be a fun one for our fans to follow.”

The Delray Beach Open by The Venetian has moved one week earlier on the ATP World Tour calendar. The three-day ATP Champions Tour event will kick off on Valentines’ Day, Friday, Feb. 14 with two evening matches featuring Roddick, Ivanisevic, Gambill and Wilander. The ATP Champions Tour final will be played Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3:00 pm.

The ATP World Tour three-day qualifying rounds begin Saturday, Feb. 15 with the main draw beginning Monday, Feb. 17. The doubles final is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1:00 pm followed by the singles final at 3:00 pm.

To purchase tickets, check playing schedules, or to obtain more information, please go to www.YellowTennisBall.com, call 561-330-6000 or visit the Delray Beach event’s box office at 30 NW 1st Avenue, Delray Beach, FL.

Delray Beach ATP World Tour Headliners:

The Bryan Brothers, 2009 and 2010 Delray Beach champs, are 8-time year-end world No. 1 doubles champions. The pair are the first doubles team in history to hold all four Grand Slam titles as well as the Olympic gold medal at the same time. They have 92 career ATP titles, including 15 Grand Slam wins.

Tommy Haas has returned to the Top 20 from major surgery three times in his career. The 2006 Delray Beach champion has twice been the ATP’s “Comeback Player of the Year” and is currently ranked No. 12 in the world. Haas has won more than $12 million in prize money.

Top-ranked American John Isner, who has back-to-back semifinal finishes in Delray Beach, reached a career-high No. 9 in the world in 2012 and enjoyed 18 weeks in the Top 10. He reached the 2011 Australian Open QF and his first Master Series final in Indian Wells that year. He finished No. 1 among ATP players in aces two of the last three years, and has garnered 7 career ATP titles.

Kei Nishikori won his first ATP title in Delray Beach in 2008 as an 18-year-old, and reached his first Grand Slam QF at the 2012 Australian Open. The top all-time Japanese player with rock star status has reached No. 11 in the world this year and is positioned to become the top Asian tennis player of all time.

Kevin Anderson is enjoying the best year of his career, reaching three finals in 2013, and currently No. 20 in the world. In addition to his Delray Beach title in 2012, he has reached two QFs in his new hometown. Anderson established a residence in Delray Beach over the summer.

Janko Tipsarevic, the 2011 Delray Beach runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro, finished 2012 as the year-end No. 8 in the world. With 4 career ATP titles, a 2012 US Open QF finish and the 2010 Davis Cup title, the Serbian has enjoyed two straight Top 10 seasons.

An 18-year-old Lleyton Hewitt won the first ATP tournament held in Delray Beach (1999). The No. 1 player in the world for the 2001 and 2002 seasons won Grand Slam titles at the 2001 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2002 and has five Top 10 year-end finishes, including four in the Top 5.

Marcos Baghdatis was a 2006 Australian Open finalist and became the ATP’s breakout performer that year, reaching a career-high No. 8 and finishing the season at No. 12. Baghdatis was also Top 20 in 2007 and 2010.

Delray Beach ATP Champions Tour Headliners:

2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick will be making his ATP Champions Tour debut in Delray Beach, a venue where he began his pro career with a pair of wild cards in 2000 and 2001. He finished No. 1 in the world for 2003, and had an incredible run in the Top 10 from 2002 – 2010. Roddick led the 2007 US team to the Davis Cup title.

Goran Ivanisevic garnered 22 career ATP wins but his greatest moment was winning the 2001 Wimbledon title 11 years after he won his first title. He achieved a career-high No. 2 ranking and finished in the Top 10 five times in his career.

Hall of Famer (2002) Mats Wilander is one of only five men to win Grand Slams on every surface. The Swede won the first of his seven Slam titles at the French Open as an unseeded 17-year-old. He was the No. 1 ranked player in the world in 1988, won 33 ATP titles and three Davis Cup titles.

Player Schedule Highlights:

Andy Roddick: Friday, Feb. 14 (Session 1 – night), Saturday, Feb. 15 (Session 3 – night)
John Isner: Tuesday, Feb. 18 (Session 8 – night)
Bryan Brothers: Wednesday, Feb. 19 (Session 9 – day)

DELRAY BEACH, FL: The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC) has engaged in a partnership with The Venetian® Las Vegas, changing the tournament’s name to the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian® Las Vegas to reflect the luxury hotel company’s new affiliation as presenting sponsor.

To usher in the new era, future Hall of Famer Andy Roddick will make his ATP Champions Tour debut in the city where he played his first professional tournament as an 18-year-old.

Tournament founder Mark Baron, who also serves as the tournament director of the 22-year-old event, made the announcements Saturday.

“The addition of The Venetian Las Vegas as a partner is a key step in our growth,” said Baron of the event’s re-branding. “Over the years there have been changes and additions that were made to ensure that the event would grow and prosper. The Venetian is an internationally respected brand and their involvement and partnership will give us the flexibility to move our event to yet another level.”

The tennis event’s weekly attendance has doubled from 30,000 to 60,000 during its first 15 years in Delray Beach thanks to improved player fields and the addition of an ATP Champions Tour tournament in 2010 that has created the world’s only combined ATP World Tour and ATP Champions Tour event. In 2014, the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian’s reach will grow to 40+ hours of live domestic HD TV coverage and 52 hours of live international coverage over seven days.

“Tennis fans love travel and The Venetian Las Vegas represents a perfect match between their love of travel and the most popular destination in the world,” said Robert Rippee, senior vice president of marketing for The Venetian Las Vegas. “On behalf of The Venetian Las Vegas, I want to say how excited we are to play a key role in this fantastic tournament.”

The Venetian Las Vegas, one of the world’s most luxurious resort and convention destinations, is the largest property in the country to receive AAA’s Five Diamond and the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Four Star awards. Recreating Venice’s legendary landmarks, the LEED® EB Gold-certified resort located in the heart of the Las Vegas strip features an indoor streetscape complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers, a premier spa club, world-class gaming and a wide variety of entertainment and showroom headliners.

The Delray Beach Open by The Venetian will move one week earlier on the 2014 ATP calendar to February 14 – 23, beginning on Valentine’s Day and the President’s Day weekend. The 10-day event is also positioned desirably for Palm Beach County sports fans between two PGA Tour golf events.

There are two ways fans can immediately celebrate the exciting tournament news. First, the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian has instituted the biggest price rollback in its 22-year history. And, for a limited time during the upcoming US Open tennis spectacle, an additional 20 percent discount can be enjoyed on all individual tickets to the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian. That discount applies to reserved seats, box seats, and for the first time ever, covered Veranda seats and on-court Best Seats in the House. The special offer is available Sunday, August 25 at 9:00 am through Tuesday, September 10 at 11:59 pm.

Roddick will take a break from his current job as weekday host for Fox Sports Live to return to his tennis roots in Delray Beach, this time on the ATP Champions Tour. The 2003 US Open champion and former world No. 1 will make his debut on opening night, Friday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 pm and will play a second match on Saturday, Feb. 15, also at 8:30 pm. The ATP Champions Tour final will be played Sunday, Feb. 16.

“We are ecstatic to be able to welcome Andy back to Delray Beach,” said Baron, who gave the junior star a wild card in 2000 to experience his first ATP World Tour tournament. “I can remember how excited he was to play in his first professional event, and now it has come full circle. This is another chance for all of us to fully appreciate his tennis and the legendary accomplishments of his career.”

Roddick finished in the ATP’s Top 10 for nine consecutive years (2002 – 2010), was ranked No. 1 in 2003 and won 32 career ATP titles. The former Boca Raton resident played in five Delray Beach ATP events, winning a doubles title with Jan-Michael Gambill in 2001, reaching the singles final against Davide Sanguinetti in 2002 and also reaching the singles quarterfinals in 2012.

To take advantage of the price rollback and tickets discounted 20 percent during the US Open, fans can go to www.yellowtennisball.com, call 561-330-6000 or visit the Delray Beach event’s box office at 30 NW 1st Avenue, Delray Beach, FL.

All event information is on the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian website at www.YellowTennisBall.com.

Image ©CameraSport

Last season after the disappointment of losing in the Wimbledon final, Murray bested Djokovic in the semifinals and Roger Federer in the next round to earn Olympic Gold in London a few months later. That feat along with having a major under his belt, the 2012 U.S. Open, were undoubtedly confidence boosters as Murray sauntered on the court to compete.

With Rafael Nadal and Federer knocked out in the first and second round respectively, Murray was expected to walk into the final. However, in the quarterfinals, the Brit had to overcome a 2 sets to none deficit against Fernando Verdasco. Also, in the semifinals, Murray surrendered the first set before ultimately taking control against newcomer Jerzy Janowicz.

Subsequent to beating all comers in straight sets, Djokovic needed five against an injured Juan Martin Del Potro who kept coming back from the brink in the longest semifinal in the tournament’s existence 4 hours and 43 minutes.

When Djokovic and Murray collided in the 2013 Australian Open final, Murray never broke despite a myriad of chances. So, when triple break point for Murray came and went in the opening game, the nail biting began for the spectators.

Later, with a forehand up the line volley winner, Murray had his seventh break point of the initial set. He converted with a backhand down the line winner. However, the public’s joy was ephemeral. Because of a slew of miscues, Murray dropped the next game at love and the set was leveled at 2 all.

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Britain’s Andy Murray had more at stake today than the Miami title. Hoisting the Sony Open trophy would signify the number two world ranking. The reigning U.S. Open defeated Spaniard David Ferrer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 to obtain his second Sony Open prize.

Ferrer, who was making his maiden appearance in the final in Miami, his fifth at the ATP Masters 1000 level, knew from the outset it would be an uphill battle. Ferrer’s first ATP Masters 1000 title came in November after being denied three times prior.

Although Murray had a slight 6-5 lead in their head to head, the Spaniard has just one win on hardcourt. The others have been on clay. In 2011, these two collided at the Masters tournament in Shanghai, Murray triumphed in two sets.

Moreover, history was not on Ferrer’s side. Three compatriots, including Rafael Nadal three times, have gone down in the final at the Miami Masters. Also, Ferrer has an abysmal mark against top five players, 0-12.

Nevertheless, this was far from the Spaniard’s mind as he salvaged two break points in his opening service game, then went on a five game run to lead 5-0 in the first set.

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On Sunday, in the Sony Open final, Andy Murray will take on David Ferrer. Murray beat Richard Gasquet 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to his third final in Miami.

Gasquet befuddled the 2009 champion early on, getting the break with a beautiful back down the line winner. The Frenchman went on to consolidate and move ahead 3-0.

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Richard Gasquet grabbed his maiden semifinal berth at the Sony Open. The Frenchman stopped 2010 finalist Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3 to win a date with Andy Murray tomorrow.

Although Gasquet had a 4-3 lead in their head to head, only a few days ago in the round of 16 at Indian Wells, Berdych sent him packing in two sets. Consequently, Berdych would have come in quite confident.

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Andy Murray maintained his winning ways at the Sony Open. The reigning U.S. Open champion prevailed over the ninth seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3.

Despite obtaining the initial break for a 2-1 lead, Cilic failed to sustain the momentum. A few more exchanges of breaks followed. After order was restored and the players arrived at 4 all, Cilic gifted his counterpart the break in a game where he committed two double faults.

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On a bizarre night that saw temperatures plummet in Miami, Tommy Haas pulled off the upset of the tournament by defeating two-time defending Sony Open champion Novak Djokovic in straight
sets 6-2, 6-4.

“Playing against something like Novak and coming out on top at this time of my career, it’s unbelievable.”, said Haas “You know, it goes up as one of my, you know, most best wins of my career.”

Djokovic was attempting to tie the record for consecutive wins in Miami, but a slew of unforced errors from the Serbian throughout the match proved to be his downfall. Djokovic credited Haas as the better player tonight and assessed his performance in his post match interview. “Yeah, I mean, all the credit to him. He played a great match and he was the better player, no question about it.” said Djokovic. “The results show everything, you know. As far as I’m concerned, it’s definitely the worst match I have played in a long time.”

When asked to access the unseasonal conditions in Miami Djokovic responded, “I mean, conditions were really much, much different from what I have played, you know, in previous matches. Balls didn’t bounce at all.
You know, he has a quite flat shots. He used the variety really well. Yeah, it was very cold, and I just didn’t find a better solution to come back to the match.”

Earlier in the day another Serbian was upset in Miami. The number 7 seed Janko Tipsarevic was bounced from the tournament by the number 11 seed Gilles Simon in three sets 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Haas will face Simon in Wednesday’s night session for a place in the Sony Open semi-finals.

Miami, FL Ricky Dimon
Absences and withdrawals have marked the 2013 Sony Open Tennis event, but Andy Murray–to name just one–is restoring order to the proceedings. Murray earned his second consecutive straight-set win by dismissing Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(3), 6-3 during third-round action on Monday afternoon.

Dimitrov, who lost to Murray in the Brisbane final earlier this season, got off to a fast start. The 21-year-old Bulgarian twice led by a break in the first set but ultimately he could not serve it out at 5-4. Dimitrov also squandered a mini-break advantage in the ensuing tiebreaker and from there he lost the second set in less dramatic fashion.

“He probably got a little bit nervous,” Murray said of Dimitrov, “and that helped me. Once I started to improve my depth a bit I made it tough for him and he started to make more mistakes after that.”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga followed suit on the show court and hammered Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and five minutes. Tsonga fought off the only two break points he faced to book a fourth-round showdown against Marin Cilic.

Compared with Cilic (a straight-set victor over John Isner) and Tsonga, Tomas Berdych took a more roundabout way to the last eight. Berdych saved a match point at 3-5 in the second set with a second-serve aces and he survived another in the ensuing tiebreaker. One break in the final frame of play allowed the fourth-seeded Czech to complete his comeback win.

Ricky Dimon is a contributor in Miami and writes for TennisTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter under @RD_Tennistalk by clicking here.

Miami, FL Ricky Dimon
The men’s singles draw at the Sony Open Tennis event is befitting March Madness, with plenty of surprise entrants making impressive inroads, but Novak Djokovic is doing his best to restore order in the absences of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Two days after destroying Lukas Rosol 6-1, 6-0 in his opening match, Djokovic rolled over Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-4 during second-round action on Sunday afternoon.

Miami’s two-time defending champion took control right away with a break for a 1-0 advantage in the first set. Djokovic broke again for 5-2 and served out the opener one game later before a single break helped him through the second. Devvarman saw his only break chance in the final game at 5-4 in the second, but he could not convert.

“Conditions (were) not so great,” Djokovic assured when asked about the wind, which gusted all day long. “It was very difficult to get into the rhythm because because you couldn’t really serve at 100 percent and you had to go for more precision and you had to put twice as much effort in the step adjustments because of the windy conditions. All in all I’m just happy to get through the rough day.”

David Ferrer also handled the conditions in commendable fashion as he dismissed Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5. Ferrer, who was contesting his first match of the tournament due to a Dmitry Tursunov withdrawal in the previous round, gave back a break in the second set but recovered to served out the match at 6-5.

“It’s difficult for us, for me and for my opponent,” Ferrer said of the wind. “I am happy because it is not easy to play with Fognini. He played one match before. He was more comfortable in the court. But I am happy with my game.”

More dramatic encounters featured Jurgen Melzer against Tobias Kamke and Albert Ramos against James Blake.

Kamke had taken out Juan Martin Del Potro and he got off to a fast start in this one, but Melzer stormed back to prevail 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4. Ramos survived a hard-hitting night match in the Stadium, scoring a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Blake. They aren’t quite making Cinderella runs of Florida Gulf Coast proportions, but either Melzer or Ramos will advance to the quarterfinals when they go head-to-head on Tuesday.

Ricky Dimon is a contributor in Miami and writes for TennisTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter under @RD_Tennistalk by clicking here.