FORMER WORLD NO. 1 ANDY MURRAY OF GREAT BRITAIN
ACCEPTS MAIN DRAW WILD CARD FOR 2021 SAN DIEGO OPEN
$600,000 ATP 250 Tournament Set for Sept. 27 – Oct. 3 at Barnes Tennis Center
SAN DIEGO – (September 13, 2021) – Former World No. 1 Andy Murray of Great Britain has accepted a Wild Card into the main draw of the $600,000 San Diego Open. The ATP 250-Level tournament will be played Monday, September 27 through Sunday, October 3, 2021 at Barnes Tennis Center.
The 34-year-old Murray, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, has won 46 career ATP singles titles since turning professional in 2005. He is a two-time Wimbledon champion, winning grass court titles at the All-England Club in 2013 and 2016. Murray also captured the US Open singles championship in 2012.
Murray became the first player to win two Olympic gold medals in singles. He won Rio in 2016 and London in 2012, which was highlighted by his 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 1 Roger Federer in the final on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
A recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2014, Murray is the only player with at least seven victories over Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, including championship wins over all three players among his 14 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
In 2016, Murray earned the No. 1 spot in the FedEx ATP rankings. He ended the year on a 24-match win streak, defeating No. 2 Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking with his ATP-best ninth title of the season.
Murray’s tournament appearance at the Barnes Tennis Center will not be the first time he has played in San Diego. In 2014, Murray led Great Britain to a 3-1 victory over the United States in a first-round Davis Cup match played on a temporary red clay court in the outfield at Petco Park.
Murray opened the Davis Cup tie with a decisive 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over American Donald Young. Later in the reverse singles, Murray clinched the match for Great Britain against Sam Querrey of the United States as he scored an impressive 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 victory.
“I have great memories of that Davis Cup tie. It was a great experience playing in a baseball stadium. San Diego is a really nice city and I’m looking forward to going back there later this month for the San Diego Open,” Murray said.
For additional player information on Murray, click here.
“With the addition of Murray, a former World No. 1 player, the field for this tournament is spectacular,” said San Diego Open Tournament Director Ryan Redondo, “This is going to be an incredible week of men’s professional tennis and I encourage fans to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.”
Top 20 players entered in the 2021 San Diego Open include: No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, No. 11 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 13 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, No. 14 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 19 Cristian Garin of Chile. (Rankings are at time of tournament entry) American Taylor Fritz, a native of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who is currently ranked No. 39, is also in the main draw.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori and American Brandon Nakashima of San Diego are the other wild card entrants joining Murray in the San Diego Open main draw.
The ATP 250 tournament features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The event offers a total of $600,000 in prize money and tournament champions will receive 250 points in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
Tickets for the San Diego Open can be purchased at www.barnessdopen.com.
About Barnes Tennis Center – The Center is owned and operated by Youth Tennis San Diego. It was built in 1995 and completed in 1997. This 4.5 million dollar facility was made possible with generous public and private donations. The Center is named after our lead donor family – the “George E. Barnes Family Junior Tennis Center.” The Center is dedicated to the youth of San Diego. Children 18 and under have court priority over adults with advanced reservations! The capital campaign was spearheaded by Dr. Homer Peabody Jr. Youth Tennis San Diego gratefully acknowledges Dr. Peabody’s tremendous contribution to make our dream a reality.
Barnes Tennis Center serves as one of San Diego’s finest jewels, and is a model for several communities throughout the Nation. The Center is the home of Youth Tennis San Diego offices, all Youth Tennis San Diego junior tournaments, Barnes Center tennis programs, After School Tennis special events, adult programs, corporate programs, a library and educational programs. Adults are welcome. Players pay a small usage fee. For additional information, please visit www.barnestenniscenter.com.
About The ATP – As a global governing body of men’s professional tennis, the ATP’s mission is to serve tennis. The ATP entertains a billion global fans, showcase the world’s greatest players at the most prestigious tournaments, and inspire the next generation of fans and players. From the ATP Cup in Australia, to Europe, the Americas and Asia, the stars of the game battle for titles and FedEx ATP Rankings points at ATP Masters 1000, 500 and 250 events, and Grand Slams. All roads lead towards the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the world’s top 8 qualified singles players and doubles teams, the tournament also sees the official crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, the ultimate achievement in tennis. For more information, please visit www.ATPTour.com.
About Southern California Tennis Association Foundation – Founded in 1986, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is the charitable arm of USTA Southern California. For three decades, the Foundation has raised money and made grants to tennis programs that serve disadvantaged youth, promising junior players, and select tennis tournaments and events.
In October 2019, the Foundation received a generous gift of $3 million dollars from an anonymous donor. The gift provided the inspiration and financial depth to propel the mission of the Foundation to the next level. Now, the primary objective is to build the Foundation into a world-class organization widely known for its impact on the people, communities, and popularity of tennis in Southern California.
The Foundation funds local programs, innovative projects and events that increase access, availability, and participation of tennis for people of all ages, abilities, ethnicity, and economic backgrounds. The Foundation also offers scholarships that support promising young junior players who are working hard to achieve their tennis aspirations. To learn more about the Foundation please visit: sctafoundation.org. |
