ATLANTA, July 15, 2010 – Andy Roddick, America’s top men’s player, has accepted a wild card into the Atlanta Tennis Championships. Roddick won the last ATP World Tour tournament in Atlanta in 2001. The Atlanta event, owned and operated by USTA Southern, will serve as the kick-off to the 2010 Olympus US Open Series.
The 2003 US Open champion and current world No. 9 Roddick will be the tournament’s top seed. He won the Olympus US Open Series in 2005 and 2006.
On Apr. 29, 2001, the 18-year-old Roddick was ranked No. 89 when he defeated Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-2, 6-4 in the Atlanta clay court final. He was the first American teenager to win an ATP title since Michael Chang in 1992.
Malisse also returns to Atlanta and is projected to be seeded seventh.
Roddick will also play doubles with American Mardy Fish.
"Bringing the best tennis player in America back to Atlanta, where he won his first ATP World Tour title, is extremely exciting," Tournament Director Bill Oakes said. "In speaking with Andy, he expressed how happy he is to return to the site of his first victory, a city that is truly devoted to playing and watching tennis."
Roddick comes into Atlanta with a 32-7 match record in 2010. He opened the season with a title in Brisbane and, in April, he won the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Miami. He leads the ATP World Tour this season with a 26-4 hard court record (most wins).
The former World No. 1 has 29 career titles on the ATP World Tour, He and Roger Federer are the only active players to finish in the Top 10 for the past eight years and are also the only active players who have won at least one ATP World Tour title the past 10 years. He’s appeared in five Grand Slam finals, including three at Wimbledon.
Fish won his fourth career title Sunday, defeating Olivier Rochus to take the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. The victory advanced Fish 30 spots to No. 49 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP rankings.
James Ward of Great Britain will receive the third wild card.
Taking place from July 19-25, the Atlanta Tennis Championships
will feature some of the world’s top ATP players, plus the US Open National Playoffs – Men’s Championship.
The Atlanta Tennis Championships will feature a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. Roddick joins John Isner, Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and Robby Ginepri in the main singles draw. Concurrently, the men’s winners from 16 US Open National Playoffs Sectional Qualifying Tournaments will battle for one spot in the 2010 US Open Qualifying Tournament in Flushing, N.Y.