Taylor Dent and Paradorn Srichaphan also join the field as daily ticket sales begin Monday, April 17th for the 2006 tournament
INDIANAPOLIS…Robby Ginepri will return to defend his title at the 2006 RCA Championships. Taylor Dent and Paradorn Srichaphan, the 2005 and 2003 RCA Championships runner-ups respectively, will also return to Indianapolis for the 2006 tournament. They join previously announced Andy Murray, Fernando Gonzalez and two-time singles champion Andy Roddick in the 2006 player field.
The Championships will be held July15-23, at the Indianapolis Tennis Center on the campus of IUPUI. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 17th.
Robby Ginepri the No. 4 American (behind No. 4 Roddick, No. 8 Blake and No. 11 Agassi) is currently ranked No. 19 on the INDSEIT ATP rankings. Last year he finished in the Top 20 for the first time at No. 16. Starting slowly in 2005 he fell to a season-low ranking of No. 103 on July 4 but finished strong by posting a 28-10 mark reaching the quarterfinals or better in seven tournaments. In July, he captured his second career singles title at Indianapolis by defeating, for the first-time in his career, Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He followed that up with a semifinal showing at the ATP Master Series Cincinnati event, where he defeated No. 4 Marat Safin before losing to No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals in three-sets. When he got to the US Open he was ranked No. 46 and made a run to semifinals with consecutive five-set wins over Tommy Haas, Richard Gasquet and Guillermo Coria. He finished of the year by reaching the semifinals at the ATP Masters Series Madrid event.
The 26-year-old American Taylor Dent, finished in the Top 30 for the first time in his career by improving his year-end ranking to No. 29. Dent won a career-best 33 matches and reached the finals at Adelaide and Indianapolis. He reached the quarterfinals or better at five other ATP Tournaments, including the ATP Master Series Miami event and posted a 4-5 record against Top 10 opponents, defeating Hewitt, Nalbandian, Safin and Coria.
In 2002, the Bangkok newspaper, the “Nation” named, Paradorn Srichaphan, the “Thai of the Year.” In 2005 this past RCA Championships runner-up, recorded his fourth straight Top 50 ranking, highlighted by two ATP runner-up performances at Chennai and Stockholm. Srichaphan is off to a solid start in 2006 with an 11-7 record and is currently ranked No. 39 on the INDESIT ATP Rankings. He reached the quarterfinals at Chennai and Sydney and had his best showing to date at the ATP Master Series Indian Wells event, where he reached the semifinals by defeating No. 7 David Nalbandian, No. 9 Jarkko Nieminen and Robby Ginepri before losing to No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals.
“Adding Ginepri, Dent and Srichaphan, we have bolstered our field with high-energy guys who keep the crowd entertained with their combination of talent and raw emotion,” said RCA Championships Tournament Director Kevin Martin. “These guys have a proven track record here in Indianapolis and we see this year’s tournament being one of the most competitive events we have ever had.”
The RCA Championships is a world-class tennis event held annually in Indianapolis. The event, which traces its roots back to 1920, has hosted such notable players as Pete Sampras, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
Daily Tickets for the 2006 RCA Championships go on sale Monday, April 17. They can be purchased by calling 800-622-LOVE or by visiting any Ticketmaster location.