Three of the best American men’s players of the Open era are returning to the New Haven Open at Yale in 2014.

James Blake, Andy Roddick and Jim Courier will participate in the first-ever New Haven Open Legends event on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and Thursday, Aug. 21.

Beyond a top-notch women’s field returning for 2014, fans will get to enjoy men’s tennis once again in New Haven as Blake – a native of Fairfield, Conn.., a two-time New Haven Open champion and the former No. 4 player in the world – will take on two former world No. 1s in Courier and Roddick.

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, Blake will match up against Courier, a four-time Grand Slam winner, owner of 23 ATP World Tour singles titles and a member of two winning United States Davis Cup teams. (Courier is the current Davis Cup captain.) And on Thursday, the former US Open quarterfinalist will face off against Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion and a five-time Grand Slam finalist.

Both matches will be played after the 7 p.m. WTA feature match on their respective nights, and they will be best-of-three sets, with a super tiebreak played for the third set.

“I’m really excited to play again in front of my hometown fans from Connecticut and be part of the first New Haven Open Legends event,” said Blake. “I have such incredible memories from both of my wins at the tournament, so to come back and compete against Jim and Andy will be fun. It’s great to see men’s tennis make a return to New Haven.”

The New Haven Open was held as a dual men’s and women’s event from 2005 to 2010.

Blake spoke during the 13th annual New Haven Open Free Lesson, which introduced kids to the game of tennis, emphasized the importance of fitness in their lives, and encouraged them to sign up for affordable summer tennis lessons through the New Haven Parks & Recreation Department. More than 350 New Haven youth attended the event.

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