U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

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$474,000 with the winner receiving US$85,900.^[2] It is the only remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts.

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship
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 (2023)
Singles	Frances Tiafoe
Doubles	Max Purcell Jordan Thompson

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 was held on 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

 

River Oaks Country Club

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		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		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		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		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		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		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		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		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		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)

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]

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
	Grant Golden
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]

See also

•  Sport portal
•  Tennis portal
•  Texas portal

• Charleston Open – WTA clay court event held in the United States
• U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships
• River Oaks International Tennis Tournament

References

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.

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

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to US Men's Clay Court Championships.

• Official website
• Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament profile
• Video of 1958 tournament in River Forest, IL

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