Melzer, Nalbandian Join Strong Washington Field

© Getty ImagesDavid Nalbandian will return to Washington DC this summer to defend his title.

Tournament officials announced Monday a first-class player field featuring several former champions and runners-up, with the release of the entry list for the 2011 Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO, an ATP World Tour 500 event, including 10 Top 30 players.

The field is led by top-ranked American Mardy Fish, currently No.9 in the world, three-time Legg Mason Tennis Classic Champion Andy Roddick (2001, 2005 and 2007), No. 10 in the world,  Austria’s Jurgen  Melzer, No. 11 – making his first DC appearance - and World No. 12 Viktor Troicki, 2008 runner-up. David Nalbandian, who made a spectacular Legg Mason Tennis Classic debut last year, coming in as a wild card and leaving with the trophy, will return to defend his title, while Americans John Isner, 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic finalist and, James Blake, 2002 Champion and 2005 runner-up, Marcos Baghdatis, 2010 finalist and Lleyton Hewitt, 2004 Champion are also slated to return.

The annual tournament held at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center (16th and Kennedy Streets, NW) in Rock Creek Park takes place 30 July through 7 August, and marks the 18th straight year that Baltimore-based global asset management firm Legg Mason has been the title sponsor, the longest running tennis sponsorship in North America.

The field includes an electrifying mix of top international and US players, as well as several of the game’s rising stars.  Six players have won singles titles thus far in 2011 – including Roddick at Memphis, ensuring his 11th straight year with at least one title; former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko at Munich, earning his 21st career title; 2006 Legg Mason semi-finalist Dmitry Tursunov (s-Hertogenbosch) and three players winning their first career ATP World Tour singles titles:  Milos Raonic (San Jose); Kevin Anderson (Johannesburg) and Ryan Sweeting (Houston).  Canada’s Raonic, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, and Japan’s Kei Nishikori have each been touted as the future stars of the ATP World Tour.

Other notable names in singles include a couple of players on the comeback trail following surgery in 2010 - Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, who reached the 2003 Legg Mason Tennis Classic final, upsetting Andre Agassi before falling to Tim Henman; and Tommy Haas¸ who reached the 2008 semi-finals here, and has been to the quarters three times.  Also entered are Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, No. 28, making his Legg Mason debut; Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, No. 29; and 2010 semi-finalist Xavier Malisse, No. 40, who upset Isner and top-seeded Tomas Berdych at last year’s tournament, and so far this year has reached the final at Chennai and semi-final at s-Hertogenbosch.

This Official Player Acceptance list from the ATP World Tour accounts for 38 of the 48 spots in main draw singles.  Wildcards (4) and Qualifiers (6) – to be determined at a later date – will complete the field.  One Singles Main Draw wildcard has already been accepted by Hewitt.

An integral part of the sports and entertainment fabric of Washington, DC for 42 years, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a Lagardère Unlimited production, is owned by and benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, which seeks to improve the life prospects for DC area youth.

In addition to its status as an ATP World Tour 500 event, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic is also part of the Olympus US Open Series which links ten summer tournaments to the US Open, the largest annually attended sporting event in the world.  The Olympus US Open Series brings together these ten tournaments in North America, three television networks, tennis’ sanctioning bodies and top corporate sponsors during the summer tennis season.  Since its launch in 2004, The Olympus US Open Series has doubled television viewership of tennis, increased total event attendance and contributed to the growing popularity of the sport.

Ticket packages and single session tickets for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic are now on sale. Call +1 202 721 9500 or click here.

For more information about the event, please go to the official Legg Mason Tennis Classic website here.