LOS ANGELES - Andy Murray and Ryan Sweeting have received the final two wild cards into the 2010 Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, at the LA Tennis Center on UCLA's campus.
Also joining the field Friday were South African Kevin Anderson, who gained entrance by virtue of reaching the semifinals this week in Atlanta, along with the next direct acceptances of Illya Marchenko, Teimuraz Gabashvili and Karol Beck.
Two players who were on the initial acceptance list were forced to withdraw from the event. World No. 2 Novak Djokovic pulled out for personal reasons while 2007 champion Radek Stepanek withdrew due to a knee injury.
"It's certainly disappointing to lose players like Novak and Radek, however we are very excited that we've added these six players to the draw," said Tournament Director Bob Kramer. "We were looking forward to Novak making his debut in LA, but we're very fortunate that Andy Murray, another top five player will be able to join us."
This will be the debut in LA for Murray. He has had success before in California, winning the titles in San Jose in 2006 and 2007 while also reaching the Indian Wells final in 2009.
Murray will be the top seed in the draw. The second seed will be defending tournament and Olympus US Open Series champion Sam Querrey. Those two, along with third and fourth seeds, Marcos Baghdatis and Feliciano Lopez, will receive first round byes.
Other stars in the field of the 84th annual Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, include Americans James Blake, Robby Ginepri and Mardy Fish as well as international stars Ernests Gulbis, Xavier Malisse and Janko Tipsarevic.
The singles draw was made Friday night and can be found here.
Four more players will join the main draw after playing in the qualifying event this weekend. The qualifying draw can be found here. Qualifying will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Sycamore Courts on UCLA's campus, and the order of play can be found here.
On Saturday evening, the doubles draw will be made. Headlining the field will be five-time Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, champions Bob and Mike Bryan. The Bryans are tied for the Open Era record with 61 career titles and will be attempting to establish a new record at their hometown tournament.
The tennis action in Straus Stadium will kick off on Saturday night when Andre Agassi plays John McEnroe during Stars Under the Stars, presented by Grubb & Ellis, to benefit the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education. Prior to that match, Jim Courier will team up with rock star Gavin Rossdale to play Michael Chang and comedian Jon Lovitz.
Prior to the match, Agassi will meet with the media at 7:15. A press conference with McEnroe is TBC.
ESPN2 will broadcast eight hours of live coverage of this year's Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, including singles quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches. Tennis Channel will again provide significant additional broadcast coverage, including singles quarterfinal and doubles championship matches.
Tickets the Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, are on sale now through Ticketmaster. Additional ticket information can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com or by calling 310-824-1010, ext. 251.
ABOUT THE FARMERS CLASSIC PRESENTED BY MERCEDES-BENZ
The Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, has been played every year since 1927, making it the longest-running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles. Played since 1984 at the LA Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA, the tournament is part of the Olympus US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events to the US Open. Proceeds from the Farmers Classic Presented by Mercedes-Benz 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. Information on tickets and the tournament can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com or by calling 310-824-1010.