U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
2024 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
Tournament information
Location	Houston, Texas; United States
Venue	River Oaks Country Club
Category	Grand Prix Tour (1970–89) ; ATP World Series; (1990–1999); ATP International Series; (2000–2008); ATP World Tour 250 series; (2009–2018); ATP Tour 250 series; (2019–present)
Surface	Maroon clay / outdoors
Draw	28S / 16D
Prize money	$642,735 (2023)
Website	mensclaycourt.com
Current champions (2024)
Singles	Ben Shelton
Doubles	Max Purcell; Jordan Thompson

The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament. Founded in 1910, it has been held in nearly two dozen cities, and since 2001 has been held in Houston, Texas.^[1] It currently pays out US$742,350 with the winner receiving US$100,635.^[2] It is the only remaining ATP World 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) persuaded the USLTA that a National Clay Court Championship would promote the construction of more clay courts in the West. Clay courts were cheaper to install and maintain than grass courts, and the hope was that these lower costs would accelerate the growth of the game's popularity. The first National Clay Court Championships were held at the Omaha Field Club; a crowd of 5,000 watched 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. Between 1970 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour as part of the Grand Prix Super Series of events (1974–1977). During the stint in Indianapolis, from 1969 through 1986, the tournament was a combined men's and women's event.

From 2001 to 2007, the event was held at the Houston Westside Tennis Club. In 2007, after a few years being held on the same red clay used at the French Open, the event switched to Har-Tru green clay.

In 2007, the U.S. Tennis Association sought a new venue and entertained bids from Atlanta, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. But in May 2007, the USTA announced that the tournament would simply move downtown to River Oaks Country Club in the River Oaks neighborhood. The new venue has a stadium with seating for 3,000 with temporary seating for 500 for the second court.^[3] Its Har-Tru clay, of a maroon color, was renewed in 2005 and 2008.

Past finals

Singles

Bill Tilden holds the record for most titles (7).
Bill Tilden and Frank Parker share the record of most finals (8).

Year	City	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1910	Omaha, Nebraska	Melville H. Long	Walter Merrill Hall	6–0, 6–1, 6–1
1911	Omaha, Nebraska	Walter T. Hayes	Percy D. Siverd	7–5, 6–2, 6–1
1912	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Richard N. Williams	Walter T. Hayes	6–3, 6–1, 8–6
1913	Omaha, Nebraska	John R. Strachan	Walter Merrill Hall	6–0, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
1914	Cincinnati, Ohio	Clarence Griffin	Elia Fottrell	3–6, 6–8, 8–6, 6–0, 6–2
1915	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Richard N. Williams (2)	Clarence Griffin	Default
1916	Cleveland, Ohio	Willis E. Davis	Conrad B. Doyle	6–2, 7–5, 6–3
1917	Cleveland, Ohio	Samuel Hardy	Charles Garland	3–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–3
1918	Chicago, Illinois	Bill Tilden	Charles Garland	6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
1919		William Johnston^[4]	Bill Tilden	6–0, 6–1, 4–6, 6–2
1920		Roland Roberts	Vincent Richards	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
1921		Walter T. Hayes	Alexander Squair	6–0, 6–2, 6–4
1922	Indianapolis, Indiana	Bill Tilden (2)	Zenzo Shimizu	7–5, 6–3, 6–1
1923	Indianapolis, Indiana	Bill Tilden (3)	Manuel Alonso	6–2, 6–8, 6–1, 7–5
1924	St. Louis, Missouri	Bill Tilden (4)	Harvey Snodgrass	6–2, 6–1, 6–1
1925	St. Louis, Missouri	Bill Tilden (5)	George Lott	3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–2, 8–6
1926	Detroit, Michigan	Bill Tilden (6)	Brian I. C. Norton	Default
1927	Detroit, Michigan	Bill Tilden (7)	John F. Hennessey	6–4, 6–1, 6–2
1928	Not held
1929	Indianapolis, Indiana	Emmett Paré	J. Gilbert Hall	6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6, 6–1
1930	Kansas City, Missouri	Bryan Grant	Wilbur F. Coen, Jr.	6–2, 6–4, 6–2
1931	St. Louis, Missouri	Ellsworth Vines	Keith Gledhill	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
1932	Memphis, Tennessee	George Lott	Bryan Grant	3–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1933	Chicago, Illinois	Frank Parker	Gene Mako	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
1934		Bryan Grant (2)	Donald Budge	6–2, 8–6, 6–3
1935		Bryan Grant (3)	Frank Parker	4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 6–0
1936	River Forest, Illinois	Bobby Riggs	Frank Parker	6–1, 6–8, 6–4
1937	Chicago, Illinois	Bobby Riggs (2)	Joe Hunt	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
1938	River Forest, Illinois	Bobby Riggs (3)	Gardnar Mulloy	6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 6–1, 7–5
1939	Chicago, Illinois	Frank Parker	Gardnar Mulloy	6–3, 6–0, 5–7, 6–1
1940	Chicago, Illinois	Donald McNeill	Bobby Riggs	6–1, 6–4, 6–8, 6–3
1941	River Forest, Illinois	Frank Parker (2)	Bobby Riggs	6–3, 7–5, 6–8, 4–6, 6–3
1942	St. Louis, Missouri	Seymour Greenberg	Harris Everett	5–7, 7–5, 7–9, 7–5, 8–6
1943	Detroit, Michigan	Seymour Greenberg (2)	William Talbert	6–1, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3
1944	Detroit, Michigan	Pancho Segura	William Talbert	6–3, 2–6, 7–5, 6–3
1945	Chicago, Illinois	William Talbert	Pancho Segura	6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–2
1946	River Forest, Illinois	Frank Parker (3)	William Talbert	6–4, 6–4, 6–2
1947	Salt Lake City, Utah	Frank Parker (4)	Ted Schroeder	8–6, 6–2, 6–4
1948	River Forest, Illinois	Pancho Gonzalez	Nick Carter	7–5, 6–2, 6–3
1949		Pancho Gonzalez (2)	Frank Parker	6–1, 3–6, 8–6, 6–3
1950		Herbert Flam	Ted Schroeder	6–1, 6–2, 6–2
1951		Tony Trabert	Arthur Larsen	6–8, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 8–6
1952		Arthur Larsen	Richard Savitt	4–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–4
1953		Vic Seixas	Hamilton Richardson	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
1954		Bernard Bartzen	Tony Trabert	6–4, 4–6, 6–0, 6–2
1955	Atlanta, Georgia	Tony Trabert (2)	Bernard Bartzen	10–8, 6–1, 6–4
1956	River Forest, Illinois	Herbert Flam (2)	Edward Moylan	3–6, 6–3, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3
1957		Vic Seixas (2)	Herbert Flam	1–6, 8–6, 6–1, 6–3
1958		Bernard Bartzen	Sam Giammalva	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–2
1959		Bernard Bartzen (2)	Whitney Reed	6–0, 8–6, 9–7
1960		Barry MacKay	Bernard Bartzen	4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–0
1961		Bernard Bartzen (3)	Donald Dell	6–1, 2–6, 6–2, 6–0
1962	Chicago, Illinois	Chuck McKinley	Fred Stolle	6–3, 8–6, 6–4
1963	River Forest, Illinois	Chuck McKinley (2)	Dennis Ralston	6–2, 6–2, 6–4
1964		Dennis Ralston	Chuck McKinley	6–2, 6–2, 6–1
1965		Dennis Ralston (2)	Cliff Richey	6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
1966	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Cliff Richey	Frank Froehling III	13–11, 6–1, 6–3
1967		Arthur Ashe	Marty Riessen	4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
1968		Clark Graebner	Stan Smith	6–3, 7–5, 6–0
↓ Open Era ↓
1969	Indianapolis, Indiana	Željko Franulović	Arthur Ashe	8–6, 6–3, 6–4
1970		Cliff Richey (2)	Stan Smith	6–2, 10–8, 3–6, 6–1
1971		Željko Franulović (2)	Cliff Richey	6–3, 6–4, 0–6, 6–3
1972		Bob Hewitt	Jimmy Connors	7–6, 6–1, 6–2
1973		Manuel Orantes	Georges Goven	6–4, 6–1, 6–4
1974		Jimmy Connors	Björn Borg	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
1975		Manuel Orantes (2)	Arthur Ashe	6–2, 6–2
1976		Jimmy Connors (2)	Wojtek Fibak	6–2, 6–4
1977		Manuel Orantes (3)	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–3
1978		Jimmy Connors (3)	José Higueras	7–5, 6–1
1979		Jimmy Connors (4)	Guillermo Vilas	6–1, 2–6, 6–4
1980		José Luis Clerc	Mel Purcell	7–5, 6–3
1981		José Luis Clerc (2)	Ivan Lendl	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
1982		José Higueras	Jimmy Arias	7–5, 5–7, 6–3
1983		Jimmy Arias	Andrés Gómez	6–4, 2–6, 6–4
1984		Andrés Gómez	Balázs Taróczy	6–0, 7–6
1985		Ivan Lendl	Andrés Gómez	6–1, 6–3
1986		Andrés Gómez (2)	Thierry Tulasne	6–4, 7–6
1987		Mats Wilander	Kent Carlsson	7–5, 6–3
1988	Charleston, South Carolina	Andre Agassi	Jimmy Arias	6–2, 6–2
1989	Charleston, South Carolina	Jay Berger	Lawson Duncan	6–4, 6–3
1990	Kiawah Island, South Carolina	David Wheaton	Mark Kaplan	6–4, 6–4
1991	Charlotte, North Carolina	Jaime Yzaga	Jimmy Arias	6–3, 7–5
1992		MaliVai Washington	Claudio Mezzadri	6–3, 6–3
1993		Horacio de la Peña	Jaime Yzaga	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1994	Birmingham, Alabama	Jason Stoltenberg	Gabriel Markus	6–3, 6–4
1995	Pinehurst, North Carolina	Thomas Enqvist	Javier Frana	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1996	Pinehurst, North Carolina	Fernando Meligeni	Mats Wilander	6–4, 6–2
1997	Orlando, Florida	Michael Chang	Grant Stafford	4–6, 6–2, 6–1
1998		Jim Courier	Michael Chang	7–5, 3–6, 7–5
1999		Magnus Norman	Guillermo Cañas	6–0, 6–3
2000		Fernando González	Nicolás Massú	6–2, 6–3
2001	Houston, Texas	Andy Roddick	Hyung-Taik Lee	7–5, 6–3
2002		Andy Roddick (2)	Pete Sampras	7–6^(11–9), 6–3
2003		Andre Agassi (2)	Andy Roddick	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
2004		Tommy Haas	Andy Roddick	6–3, 6–4
2005		Andy Roddick (3)	Sébastien Grosjean	6–2, 6–2
2006		Mardy Fish	Jürgen Melzer	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
2007		Ivo Karlović	Mariano Zabaleta	6–4, 6–1
2008		Marcel Granollers	James Blake	6–4, 1–6, 7–5
2009		Lleyton Hewitt	Wayne Odesnik	6–2, 7–5
2010		Juan Ignacio Chela	Sam Querrey	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
2011		Ryan Sweeting	Kei Nishikori	6–4, 7–6^(7–3)
2012		Juan Mónaco	John Isner	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
2013		John Isner	Nicolás Almagro	6–3, 7–5
2014		Fernando Verdasco	Nicolás Almagro	6–3, 7–6^(7–4)
2015		Jack Sock	Sam Querrey	7–6^(11–9), 7–6^(7–2)
2016		Juan Mónaco (2)	Jack Sock	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
2017		Steve Johnson	Thomaz Bellucci	6–4, 4–6, 7–6^(7–5)
2018		Steve Johnson (2)	Tennys Sandgren	7–6^(7–2), 2–6, 6–4
2019		Cristian Garín	Casper Ruud	7–6^(7–4), 4–6, 6–3
2020–2021		Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022		Reilly Opelka	John Isner	6–3, 7–6^(9–7)
2023		Frances Tiafoe	Tomás Martín Etcheverry	7–6^(7–1), 7–6^(8–6)
2024		Ben Shelton	Frances Tiafoe	7–5, 4–6, 6–3

Doubles (open era)

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1969	Bill Bowrey Clark Graebner	Dick Crealy Allan Stone	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
1970	Arthur Ashe Clark Graebner	Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
1971	Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš	Clark Graebner Erik van Dillen	7–6, 5–7, 6–3
1972	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	6–2, 6–3
1973	Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan	Manuel Orantes Ion Țiriac	6–3, 6–4
1974	Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	6–7, 6–3, 6–4
1975	Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes	Wojciech Fibak Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	7–5, 6–0
1976	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6–2, 6–2
1977	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	Dick Crealy Cliff Letcher	6–7, 6–4, 6–3
1978	Gene Mayer Hank Pfister	Jeff Borowiak Chris Lewis	6–3, 6–1
1979	Gene Mayer John McEnroe	Jan Kodeš Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 7–6
1980	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	Wojciech Fibak Ivan Lendl	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
1981	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	Raúl Ramírez Van Winitsky	6–3, 5–7, 7–5
1982	Sherwood Stewart Ferdi Taygan	Robbie Venter Blaine Willenborg	6–4, 7–5
1983	Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart	Carlos Kirmayr Cássio Motta	6–3, 6–2
1984	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	7–6, 7–5
1985	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	Pavel Složil Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
1986	Andrés Gómez Hans Gildemeister	John Fitzgerald Sherwood Stewart	6–4, 6–3
1987	Laurie Warder Blaine Willenborg	Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander	6–0, 6–3
1988	Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser	Jorge Lozano Todd Witsken	7–6, 6–3
1989	Mikael Pernfors Tobias Svantesson	Agustín Moreno Jaime Yzaga	6–4, 4–6, 7–5
1990	Scott Davis David Pate	Jim Grabb Leonardo Lavalle	6–2, 6–3
1991	Rick Leach Jim Pugh	Bret Garnett Greg Van Emburgh	6–3, 2–6, 6–3
1992	Steve DeVries David Macpherson	Bret Garnett Jared Palmer	6–4, 7–6
1993	Rikard Bergh Trevor Kronemann	Javier Frana Leonardo Lavalle	6–1, 6–2
1994	Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde	Jared Palmer Richey Reneberg	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
1995	Mark Woodforde Todd Woodbridge	Alex O'Brien Sandon Stolle	6–2, 6–4
1996	Pat Cash Patrick Rafter	Ken Flach David Wheaton	6–2, 6–3
1997	Mark Merklein Vince Spadea	Alex O'Brien Jeff Salzenstein	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
1998	Grant Stafford Kevin Ullyett	Michael Tebbutt Mikael Tillström	4–6, 6–4, 7–5
1999	Jim Courier Todd Woodbridge	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	7–6^(7–4), 6–4
2000	Leander Paes Jan Siemerink	Justin Gimelstob Sébastien Lareau	6–3, 6–4
2001	Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes	Kevin Kim Jim Thomas	7–6^(7–4), 6–2
2002	Mardy Fish Andy Roddick	Jan-Michael Gambill Graydon Oliver	6–4, 6–4
2003	Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor	Jan-Michael Gambill Graydon Oliver	6–4, 6–3
2004	Richey Reneberg Christo van Rensburg	Brian MacPhie David Witt	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
2005	Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor	Martín García Luis Horna	6–3, 6–4
2006	Michael Kohlmann Alexander Waske	Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer	5–7, 6–4, 10–5
2007	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor	7–6^(7–3), 6–4
2008	Ernests Gulbis Rainer Schüttler	Pablo Cuevas Marcel Granollers	7–5, 7–6^(7–3)
2009	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	Jesse Levine Ryan Sweeting	6–1, 6–2
2010	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	Stephen Huss Wesley Moodie	6–3, 7–5
2011	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	John Isner Sam Querrey	6–7, 6–2, [10–5]
2012	James Blake Sam Querrey	Treat Conrad Huey Dominic Inglot	7–6^(16–14), 6–4
2013	Jamie Murray John Peers	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	1–6, 7–6^(7–3), [12–10]
2014	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	David Marrero Fernando Verdasco	4–6, 6–4, [11–9]
2015	Ričardas Berankis Teymuraz Gabashvili	Treat Huey Scott Lipsky	6–4, 6–4
2016	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	Víctor Estrella Burgos Santiago González	4–6, 6–3, [10–8]
2017	Julio Peralta Horacio Zeballos	Dustin Brown Frances Tiafoe	4–6, 7–5, [10–6]
2018	Max Mirnyi Philipp Oswald	Andre Begemann Antonio Šančić	6–7^(2–7), 6–4, [11–9]
2019	Santiago González Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi	Ken Skupski Neal Skupski	3–6, 6–4, [10–6]
2020–2021	Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Matthew Ebden Max Purcell	Ivan Sabanov Matej Sabanov	6–3, 6–3
2023	Max Purcell Jordan Thompson	Julian Cash Henry Patten	4–6, 6–4, [10–5]
2024	Max Purcell Jordan Thompson	William Blumberg John Peers	7–5, 6–1

Records

Men's singles

Most titles	Bill Tilden	7
Most finals	Bill Tilden	8
Most consecutive titles	Bill Tilden (1922-1927)	6
Most consecutive finals	Bill Tilden (1922-1927)	6
Title with the least games lost	Andre Agassi	23 (2003)
Most matches played	Tut Bartzen	64
Most matches won	Frank Parker	56
Most consecutive matches won	Bill Tilden	36
Most editions played	Seymour Greenberg	16
Most editions played	Grant Golden	16
Best winning %	Bill Tilden	97.96%
Youngest champion	Frank Parker	17y, 5m, 3d (1933)
Oldest champion	Samuel Hardy	40y, 7m, 18d (1917)


Longest final
1942 (66 games)
Seymour Greenberg	5	7	7	7	8
Harris Everett	7	5	9	5	6


Shortest final
1999 (15 games)
Magnus Norman	6	6
Guillermo Cañas	0	3

Source: The Tennisbase^[5]

References

^ Clifford Terry (July 11, 1965). "Tennis by the quartz". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sunday Magazine, 16–19.
^ "Tournament profile". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
^ Robertson, Dale (May 8, 2007). "Clay Courts finds new home at River Oaks". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
^ "W.M. Johnston Wins Two Tennis Titles". The Toronto World. Chicago. July 21, 1919. p. 8.
^ Garcia, Gabriel. "US Clay Court Championships Tournament Records". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved November 25, 2017.

Sources

References used for the Pre-Open Era locations and champions: United States Lawn Tennis Association Yearbook (1942–'44, '48–49, '51, '53. '55–56, '60, '64, '66 & '69), Spalding Lawn Tennis Annual (1916, '24–'28, '30–'31 & '39), Wright & Ditson's Lawn Tennis Annual (1911–'14, 1921, 1932–'33, '35 & '37), New York Times articles (1910–'14, '16, '18–'19 & '21–'22), From Club Court to Center Court by Phillip S. Smith (2007 Edition, page 67).

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Båstad	ATP International Series Tournament of the Year 2003, 2004 (shared with Båstad)	Succeeded by Båstad

29°45′11″N 95°25′26″W / 29.753°N 95.424°W / 29.753; -95.424

[1] Clifford Terry (July 11, 1965). "Tennis by the quartz". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sunday Magazine, 16–19.

[2] "Tournament profile". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

[3] Robertson, Dale (May 8, 2007). "Clay Courts finds new home at River Oaks". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 11, 2014.

[4] "W.M. Johnston Wins Two Tennis Titles". The Toronto World. Chicago. July 21, 1919. p. 8.

[5] Garcia, Gabriel. "US Clay Court Championships Tournament Records". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved November 25, 2017.

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