Tennis Hall of Fame Championships Unveil 2016 Field
Friday, May 27, 2016
GoLocalProv Sports Team
The Newport International Tennis Hall of Fame Championships have announced 5 commitments to the 2016 tournament that is set to take place in July.
The players include Marcos Baghdatis, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Ivo Karlovic, Steve Johnson and Rajeev Ram, the tournaments defending champion.
Additional players for the tournament are still to be named.
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"There is a lot of variety in the player field for this year's tournament. I think it will be a great experience for fans to see some amazing young talent competing against some of the tour's more prolific veteran players like Marcos Baghdatis and Ivo Karlovic," said Tournament Director and Hall of Fame CEO Todd Martin.
The tournament will be played July 10-17. Click here for more information.
The Players
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus is currently ranked world No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Always an exciting player to watch, Baghdatis has been a staple of the ATP World Tour since the early 2000s and he has been ranked within the top-100 in the year-end rankings for 11 straight years.
Rajeev Ram returns to Newport as defending champion, having defeated Ivo Karlovic in a close final last year, 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-6(2). It was Ram's second career title, as he also won the Newport title in 2009. Ram also won the Newport doubles title that year (w/ Jordan Kerr) - one of his eight career doubles titles.
Ivo Karlovic returns for a sixth appearance at the event, where he has seen great success in recent years. Karlovic was the runner up in 2015 and 2014, and in 2013 he was a quarterfinalist. Karlovic stands at 6'11" and is known for his powerful serve which has been clocked as high as 156 mph.
American Steve Johnson, who is the third-highest ranked American player and current world No. 34 returns to Newport for the fourth straight year. He was a quarterfinalist at the event in 2014. This season, Johnson has advanced to the third round at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Miami Open.
Thanasi Kokkinakis rounds out the recent commitments to the tournament and will make his Newport debut. Kokkinakis began actively competing on the ATP World Tour in 2014, closing that first season out inside the world top-150.
New Experience for Fans
At this year's tournament, fans will be able to enjoy new amenities such as a new south grandstand with flip down seating instead of benches. There will also be video boards in the stadium and Hawk-Eye replay.
The fan zone will be expanded and will feature a tennis demo court and new on-site dining options.
Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
Hosted on the historic grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is the only ATP World Tour event played in the Northeast and the only pro tournament played on grass courts in North and South America.
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