Bryans, Fish, Dent, Spadea, Ginepri Head Cast
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| American Robby Ginepri serving to Andrew IIie of Australia during the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Cup.© Getty Images |
LOS ANGELES – American standouts twins Bob and Mike Bryan, Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, Vince Spadea and Robby Ginepri have committed to the Mercedes-Benz Cup presented by Countrywide, July 12-18, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center-UCLA. Together they represent four of the top six singles players in the United States and the heart of the U.S. Davis Cup team. This year marks the 78th consecutive year of one of the most historic championships in tennis, and the second oldest professional tournament in the U.S.
The Bryans teamed to become the first brother duo to finish No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Race with five titles in eight finals in 2003. It was the second year in a row they won five titles. They won the Roland Garros doubles title last year without dropping a set. They hold the record for most doubles titles by a brothers’ team with 17, including three this year, at Acapulco, Adelaide and Memphis. You can tell them apart because Bob plays left-handed and Mike right-handed. Also, Bob is two minutes younger than Mike.
Fish compiled his best pro season in 2003 by capturing his first career ATP singles title at Stockholm. He cracked the Top 20 rankings, and made his Davis Cup debut. He lived with Andy Roddick’s family during his senior year of high school in 1999. He and Roddick played on the same basketball and tennis teams at Boca Prep in Boca Raton, Fla.
Dent won ATP singles titles at Memphis, Bangkok and Moscow in 2003 en route to his first Top 35 rankings finish. He also made his Davis Cup debut. His first ATP career singles title came at Newport, Rhode Island, in 2002, enabling him to join his father, Phil, as an ATP titleholder. They are the only father and son to have won ATP singles titles in the Open Era-since 1968.
Spadea won his first ATP career singles title this year at Scottsdale. He reached the semifinals at the Tennis Masters Series Miami event, and the quarterfinals at Adelaide and Auckland. He finished in the Top 30 last year, the first time since 1999, by winning a career-best 34 matches and advancing to four semifinals and four quarterfinals.
Ginepri finished in the Top 30 ATP Entry Rankings for the first time in 2003. He captured his first ATP career singles title at Newport last year, at age 20 becoming the 11th youngest American to win an ATP singles title. His best results this year are a Grand Slam-best fourth round at the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Scottsdale.
The Mercedes-Benz Cup features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles competition. The landmark Southern California tournament is the longest running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles, and offers total player compensation in excess of $1 million.
The Mercedes-Benz Cup marks the first men’s event in the new US Open Series, a historic breakthrough for the sport that links 10 summer hard-court tournaments to the US Open, creating a cohesive, six-week summer tennis season for ATP and WTA Tour professional tournaments in North America.
Previous winners of the Mercedes-Benz Cup, whose history dates to 1927, include Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Michael Stich, Boris Becker, Richard Krajicek, Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Gonzalez, Jack Kramer, Don Budge, Ellsworth Vines and Bill Tilden.
Proceeds from the Mercedes-Benz Cup, held in conjunction with UCLA, benefit the grassroots programs of the non-profit Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) and UCLA. The SCTA offers programs, leagues, and tournaments involving 300,000 juniors and 50,000 adults and seniors. Inquiries regarding tickets and information may be directed to the Mercedes-Benz Cup tournament office on the UCLA campus. For information, please call 310-824-1010 or visit online at www.mercedes-benzcup.com.