CINCINNATI -- Seven of the eight men's wild cards for the 2013 Western & Southern Open have been awarded to American players, with four U.S. players being added to the main draw and three entered into qualifying.
James Blake, Brian Baker, Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock have been granted wild cards in to the main draw.
In qualifying, Australian Bernard Tomic joins a trio of Americans who each reached a career high ranking last month -- Steve Johnson, Denis Kudla and Rhyne Williams -- in the field.
"We're happy to welcome a familiar face like James back to a tournament where he has had a tremendous amount of success in his career," said Tournament Director Vince Cicero. "At the same time, it's exciting to offer these younger players a chance to participate in a tournament of this caliber. We look forward to having all eight of these players in Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Open."
Blake, the 2007 Western & Southern Open finalist, will be making his 12th apperance at the tournament, third among active players behind Tommy Haas (14) and Roger Federer (13). He also ranks sixth among active players for wins in Cincinnati with a 15-10 record.
Baker, from Nashville, returned to tennis in 2012 after a series of injuries kept him sidelined for nearly six seasons. He climbed to almost No. 50 in the rankings before suffering a knee injury at the Australian Open in January that has kept him out of action until this week's Aptos Challenger.
Harrison, a 21-year-old who now calls Austin, Texas, home, reached the semifinals last month at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in Atlanta. He also claimed the title at the Savannah Challenger on the USTA Pro Circuit earlier this season. It will be his third Western & Southern Open main draw appearance.
Sock, a 20-year-old from Lincoln, Neb., won the title at the Challenger event in Winnetka, Ill., last month. He reached his second career ATP quarterfinal in February in Memphis, Tenn. In 2010, Sock won the US Open juniors title, and he won the US Open mixed doubles crown with Melanie Oudin in 2011.
The four wild card entrants to the qualifying field will compete in a two-round tournament over this coming weekend for one of seven spots in the main draw.
Tomic, 20, is the top-ranked player from Australia. He recently reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and early this season claimed his first career title with a win in Sydney.
Kudla, a 20-year-old who grew up in Virginia, reached the quarterfinals at Queen's Club in London in June.
Johnson, 23, won back-to-back NCAA singles champions in 2011 and 2012 while playing for the University of Southern California. He won the Nottingham Challenger in June.
Williams, 22, turned pro after his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, and was the NCAA singles finalist in 2011. He reached his first career ATP semifinal at Houston in April.
In addition, the following players have been added to the main draw -- Radek Stepanek , Thomaz Bellucci and Denis Istomin. These three were entered following the withdrawals of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (knee), Viktor Troicki (suspension) and Marin Cilic (personal).
The draws for both the main draw and qualifying will be made on Friday. Qualifying begins Saturday, which is also
AdvancePierre Foods Kids Day, and tickets start as low as $5. WTA main draw play begins Monday. All matches will take place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The Western & Southern Open hosted 176,000 fans in 2012, recording a record 10 sellouts over the 16 total sessions spanning nine days. The event drew fans from all 50 states and 19 countries. Cincinnati is one of the last stops on the Emirates Airline US Open Series leading up to the US Open, and often critical points and bonus money are on the line adding drama to the week.