U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.
The tournament began in 1910 when the Western Lawn Tennis Association (a section of the United States Lawn Tennis Association now known as the USTA/Midwest) lobbied the USLTA that a National Clay Court Championship would help promote the establishment of more clay courts in the West. Clay courts were more economical to install and maintain than grass courts, and the hope was that the lower costs associated with court construction would allow for a more rapid expansion of the game. The first National Clay Court Championships were held at the Omaha Field Club with a crowd of 5,000 watching the finals. Participation and play on clay grew as a result of the event and others, and in 1914 the event was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club. It has since been played in numerous cities and is today held in Houston, Texas. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour as part of the Grand Prix Championship Series of events (1970-1986).
Read more about U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships: Relocation
Famous quotes containing the words men, clay and/or court:
“The mountains, the forest, and the sea, render men savage; they develop the fierce, but yet do not destroy the human.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Was it for this the clay grew tall?
MO what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth’s sleep at all?”
—Wilfred Owen (1893–1918)
“When a man’s feeling and character are injured, he ought to seek a speedy redress.... My character you have injured, and further you have insulted me in the presence of a court and large audience. I therefore call upon you as a gentleman to give me satisfaction for the same.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)