After an extended hiatus due to wrist surgery in 2011, Juan Martin Del Potro rejoined the ATP tour by making his maiden appearance in Delray. He went on to capture the title. However, a niggling wrist injury has prevented Del Potro from returning to the form which resulted in his triumph at the 2009 US Open.

After another round of surgery Del Potro is ready for a second comeback. The Argentine has again chosen Delray as he reincorporates himself on tour and is hoping to duplicate his past success.

Del Potro will be joining a stacked field at the Delray Open that includes Milos Raonic, Kevin Anderson, Bernard Tomic, Ivo Karlovic and Grigor Dimitrov. The Delray Beach Open will take place February 12 – 21, 2016.

Here is the official press release from the tournament :

FORMER WORLD NO.4 JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO WILL PLAY IN DELRAY BEACH
The 2009 US Open Champion Will Begin His Comeback From Wrist Injury

DELRAY BEACH: 2011 Delray Beach champion Juan Martin del Potro is taking a wild card into the Delray Beach Open, making his second appearance in the ATP World Tour event. The 10-day event is coming up February 12 – 21, with ATP World Tour play scheduled to begin Monday, February 15 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

Del Potro will be making a long-awaited comeback from a bothersome wrist injury that has dogged the former world No. 4 and 2009 US Open champion for much of his career.

In 2011, del Potro made his initial appearance in Delray Beach ranked No. 166 with just four tournaments under his belt following his first wrist surgery. He won the title without dropping a set, defeating Janko Tipsarevic for his then-8th career ATP World title.

“We’ve been expecting this call,” said Delray Beach Open tournament director Mark Baron. “Juan Martin has always had Delray Beach in his comeback plans, and we’re happy to know that it’s come to fruition. We are rooting for him to be able to overcome his injury and hope he will have a successful comeback.”

The 27-year-old Argentine has amassed 18 career ATP titles plus his Grand Slam US Open win, and has four Top 10 year-end finishes: 2008 (No. 9), 2009 (No 5), 2012 (No. 7) and 2013 (No. 5). He reached his career-high No 4 on January 11, 2010.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said del Potro via a U-Tube video. “As I had promised that I would make a comeback around January or February, now I can confirm it will happen at Delray Beach. I wanted to share the news and also the happiness that I feel knowing that I will play a tennis tournament after such a long time.”

Del Potro’s appearance in Delray Beach’s 32-player singles draw gives the tournament four former champions, including defending champion Ivo Karlovic, Kevin Anderson (2012) and Tommy Haas (2006). Additionally, the Bryan Brothers are defending doubles champions and will be chasing their third consecutive title.

The 2016 Delray Beach field already features three Top 20 players including 2016 Australian Open semifinalist Milos Raonic (No. 11), Anderson (No. 14) and Bernard Tomic (No. 20). Karlovic (No. 24) and Grigor Dimitrov (No. 28) also figure into the strong draw.

In addition to the ATP World Tour tournament, the first weekend of the Delray Beach Open includes an ATP Champions Tour event featuring six former stars playing in a Team USA vs Team International format.

Tickets are available at yellowtennisball.com/tickets or can be secured from the on-site box office (30 NW 1st Avenue in Delray Beach) or over the phone (561-330-6000 ext.1).

UPDATED 2016 DELRAY BEACH OPEN SINGLES ENTRY LIST: Kevin Anderson (RSA), Benjamin Becker (GER), Ricardas Berankis (LTU), Jeremy Chardy (FRA),Thiemo de Bakker (NED), Juan Martin del Potro (ARG), Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), Damir Dzumhur (BIH), Kyle Edmund (GBR), Marcel Granollers (ESP), Sam Groth (AUS), Tommy Haas (GER/USA), Steve Johnson (USA), Ivo Karlovic (CRO), Denis Kudla (USA), Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ), Adrian Mannarino (FRA), Illya Marchenko (UKR), John Millman (AUS), Sam Querrey (USA), Rajeev Ram (USA),Milos Raonic (CAN), Dudi Sela (ISR), Bernard Tomic (AUS), Donald Young (USA)

For more information: Go to YellowTennisBall.com.

Marty Fish, the 2009 Delray Beach Open champion, will make his debut on the ATP Champions Tour when the tournament kicks off on February 12, 2016. Fish will be joined by former ATP Tour players that will include James Blake, Mark Philippoussis, Sebastien Grosjean, Greg Rusedski and Aaron Krickstein.

The ATP Champions tour is held the first weekend of the Delray Beach Open which serves as the ATP World Tour’s first North American hard court event.

Here is the official press release from the tournament :

DELRAY BEACH: Former world No. 7 Mardy Fish will make his ATP Champions Tour debut at the 2016 Delray Beach Open, returning to the event where he continues to be the only ATP World Tour champion in tournament history to win as the top-seed – a feat he accomplished in 2009.

Additionally, former Davis Cup teammate and world No. 4 James Blake will join Fish in the ATP Champions Tour field that was announced today by the tournament. Four of the six players who will play in the event have ties to the area, including Fish, a former Vero Beach resident.

The three-day, six-player round-robin tournament is played the first weekend of the 10-day Delray Beach Open and includes an American team competing against an International trio. The action begins Friday, Feb. 12 with a pair of night matches, followed by four matches over Saturday day and night, and three Sunday afternoon matches that could decide the team title.

Joining Blake and Fish on Team USA is current Boca resident Aaron Krickstein while Team International includes former Delray Beach resident Mark Philippoussis (AUS), longtime Boca Raton resident Sebastien Grosjean (FRA), and Greg Rusedski (GBR).

The tournament is also announcing its annual Holiday Promotion, which discounts individual box and reserved tickets for all ATP Champions Tour matches (Sessions 1-4, 50% off) and ATP World Tour matches (Sessions 5-17, 20% off). The promotion begins Nov. 26 and runs through Dec. 31.

Fish, who last played in Delray Beach in 2011, missed most of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 ATP World Tour seasons as he battled a heart ailment and anxiety issues that he has since openly discussed in efforts to help others who battle the disorder. He played in several ATP World Tour events in 2015 before announcing his retirement prior to the US Open, where his career ended in a stirring five-set defeat in the second round. Over his career, Fish won six ATP titles and reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam tournaments.

Fish went 19-7 in eight Delray Beach appearances, and in addition to his ’09 title, reached the final in 2003 and semifinals in 2009 and 2001. Blake, a two-time ATP World Tour Delray Beach finalist (2007 & 2008), made his debut on the ATP Champions Tour in Delray Beach a year ago. Like Fish, he reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals during his ATP World Tour career and was runner-up to Roger Federer in the season-ending 2006 ATP World Tour Championships.

Two-time Grand Slam runner-up Philippoussis will be playing in his third ATP Champions Tour event in Delray Beach – he won the 2011 title when the tournament crowned an individual champion. A 1997 US Open finalist, Rusedski was 6-2 in Delray Beach as an ATP pro and reached the event’s 1995 final while four-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grosjean was 5-3 in Delray Beach and played in a 1999 semifinal. Rusedski and Grosjean are making their first Delray Beach ATP Champions Tour appearances.

The Delray Beach Open also announced a new ‘no-ad’ format for all ATP Champions Tour matches – at deuce, the player returning serve picks the side he wants to return from; the winner of that point wins the game. A traditional 7-point tiebreaker will continue to be played at six games apiece and a match tiebreak (10-point) will continue to decide a match when players split the first two sets.

Sunday’s 12:30 pm match on Court 1 will be of local interest because it creates a “country club rivalry” between Krickstein and Grosjean, who never played each other on the ATP World Tour. Krickstein is the longtime head pro at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton while Grosjean is a resident of Woodfield Country Club, also in Boca. Grosjean currently coaches Top 10 Richard Gasquet.

In addition to their ATP Champions Tour play, Blake and Philippoussis have been given a wild card to partner in doubles in the ATP World Tour event.

Discounted ticket are available at http://www.yellowtennisball.com/tickets/ with prices starting at $14.50. Fans can also visit the on-site box office at 30 NW 1st Avenue in Delray Beach, or call 561-330-6000.

For more information: Go to YellowTennisBall.com.

Former ATP World Tour No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov has been added to the Delray Beach Open that will be played February 12 – 21, 2016. Dimitrov joins fellow ATP players Milos Raonic and Tommy Haas as the ATP kicks off the first North American hard court event of 2016.

Below is the official tournament press release.

DELRAY BEACH: ATP World Tour star Grigor Dimitrov has joined the 32-player field for the 2016 Delray Beach Open, while 2006 champion Tommy Haas has added Delray Beach to his 2016 return tour.

The tournament previously announced that world No. 9 Milos Raonic of Canada and the longtime world top-ranked American doubles duo, the Bryan Brothers, have committed to play in Delray Beach’s ATP World tour event next February.

In its 18th year in the city and 24th overall, the Delray Beach Open will be played February 12-21, 2016 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center.

Dimitrov, 24, reached a No. 8 world ranking in 2014 thanks to a pair of semifinal finishes in Rome and Toronto, and a win over world No. 4 Andy Murray that propelled him to the Wimbledon semifinal. The Bulgarian, who famously dated Maria Sharapova for two years, has already won four ATP titles and has 10 career wins over Top 10 players.

The 37-year-old Haas has returned to the Top 20 from major surgery three times in his career, and is embarking on a fourth run after shoulder surgery last year. Twice Haas has been named the ATP’s “Comeback Player of the Year” and his 15 ATP World Tour titles and more than 550 career wins have him surpassing the $13 million earnings mark for his 20-year career.

Haas reached a career-high No. 2 ranking in 2002 shortly after reaching the Australian Open semifinal, and he won the Delray Beach tournament in his first appearance in 2006. He owns an 11-7 record in eight Delray appearances.

“We are thrilled to continue adding top talent to our 2016 field,” said tournament director Mark Baron. “Grigor is an exciting young player who we have wanted to have in Delray Beach for some time. And having a healthy Tommy competing again will be a treat for our fans. We continue to be amazed at the level of play he has brought to the courts for the last two decades.”

The Delray Beach Open also announced that its ATP World Tour qualifying event will consist of a 16-player field instead of the 32-player draw that has been customary since the event’s inception. All ATP 250-level tournaments are making the adjustment.

The 10-day Delray Beach Open also includes an ATP Champions Tour event, which brings legends of the game into town to play during the opening weekend.

A number of tournament seating packages are on sale, including the Reserved Diamond Series that includes tickets to all 17 sessions of the ATP Champions Tour and ATP World Tour events (Friday, Feb. 12 – Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016) for $500. Reserved seats (sections A – O) are located just behind the box seats and have back support and arm rests. The popular Weekender Series that includes a reserved seat for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals (sessions 13-17) is $200.

Other 17-session ticket packages include the courtside box series packages ($1,500 for two seats or $2,500 for four), the on-court Best Seats in the House package priced at $3,000 for two seats, or $4,500 for four and the covered Veranda seats. The Veranda seats are also available for individual sessions.

The event’s new Sky Suites and Sky Boxes start at $7,000 for all 17 sessions. They accommodate 8 to 24 people and include food and beverage options.

Fans can order tickets online at http://www.yellowtennisball.com/tickets/, visit the on-site box office at 30 NW 1st Avenue in Delray Beach, or call 561-330-6000.

For more information: Go to YellowTennisBall.com.

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.