Delray ITC announces 2008 draw

Three young players considered to be in the next wave of American tennis stars, the hottest young South American star and the tournament’s defending champion, have committed to play in next month’s 16th annual Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC).

The 32-player draw will include Americans John Isner, Donald Young and Sam Querrey, along with Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, and two-time Delray Beach ITC champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium.

The five join Top 20 world-ranked headliners James Blake (13) and Tommy Haas (12) as favorites to win the singles title in the event, which will be played at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center Feb. 9-17, 2008.

Adding to the excitement of the 10th anniversary of the tournament being played in Delray Beach: the No. 1 world-ranked doubles team of twins Mike & Bob Bryan will headline the doubles competition.

Isner and Querrey have already excited ATP fans across the world with their penchant for firing aces. Isner, the second tallest ATP player at 6-foot-9, fired an average of 19.6 aces per match after turning pro in June. He went on to an 8-5 record and jumped more than 700 places in the ATP rankings. The 6-foot-6 Querrey, who played in Delray Beach a year ago, set an ATP record with 10 consecutive aces in an upset win over Blake in Indianapolis last summer.

Young has been on the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) radar since he was a young teen, and his resume includes titles at the 2005 Junior Australian Open, the 2006 U.S. Junior National Championships and 2007 Junior Wimbledon. As a 15-year-old in 2005, Young became the youngest African American to be ranked No. 1 in junior tennis annals.

The 19-year-old 6-foot-5 Del Potro won a career-high 28 matches in 2007 while finishing as the youngest player ranked in the ATP Top 50. Among his rookie season highlights were a pair of wins over Top-10 players Blake and Tommy Robredo.

Malisse, a two-time Delray Beach ITC champion, will be making his ninth appearance here while compiling a tournament record 24-7 mark. Malisse’s uncanny success in Delray Beach has included three other finalist appearances; he is also one of two players in tournament history to win both the singles and doubles titles in the same year – a feat he accomplished in 2007.

ATP veteran Vince Spadea will make a record 11th appearance in the tournament; the Boca Raton native was a finalist in 2004 and a semifinalist the past three years.

Tickets to the tournament can be purchased by calling 561-330-6000 or by logging on to www.YellowTennisBall.com. Other information can be found on MySpace, Facebook and Bebo: delraybeachITC. Grandstand tickets for the first nine sessions are $15 with reserved seats priced at $30 and box seats $55-$65.

Grandstand seats for the quarterfinals through finals range from $20-$25 while the range for reserved seats is $45-$50 and box seats $70-$80.

Here is the complete entry list for the Delray Beach ITC: Benjamin Becker (GER), James Blake (USA), Paul Capdeville (CHI), Juan Martin Del Potro, Alejandro Falla (COL), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP), Denis Gremelmayr (GER), Tommy Haas (GER), Victor Hanescu (ROU), Diego Hartfield (ARG), John Isner (USA), Robert Kendrick (USA), Igor Kunitsyn (RUS), Xavier Malisse (BEL), Florian Mayer (GER), Mathieu Montcourt (FRA), Gilles Muller (LUX), Sam Querrey (USA), Bobby Reynolds (USA), Michael Russell (USA), Yuri Schukin (RUS), Dudi Sela (ISR), Florent Serra (FRA), Vince Spadea (USA), Donald Young (USA).

‘Making a Racquet’ comes to ITC

Four local bands will win the right to strike a chord on the Beck’s Light Stage during the week of the Delray Beach ITC.
Between Jan. 24 and 27, four local hot spots-Boston’s on the Beach, Saki Lounge, City Limits and Dada-will each stage a Becks Light “Making A Racquet” contest to deliver a winner in four select genres of music: rock/alternative, Jazz & Blues, Reggae/Surf and Electronic/DJ.

The four winners of the local music search will play on the Becks Light Stage during featured sessions of the Delray Beach ITC.