Black Tennis Pros

MIAMI, Fla. (www.sonyericssonopen.com) – The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open announced its wildcard entries and this year it features former World No. 4 James Blake and former World No. 1 Dinara Safina. A total of five wildcard slots were granted to the men’s draw and also include Jack Sock, Ryan Harrison, Milos Raonic, and Bernard Tomic. While six were given on the women’s side which feature Heather Watson, Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki, Madison Keys, and Coco Vandeweghe.

Women’s main draw begins on Tuesday, March 22, while the men’s main draw kicks off the following day on Wednesday, March 23. The qualifying rounds will be held Monday and Tuesday, March 21 and 22.

Tickets to the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open are on sale now and can be purchased by phone (305-442-3367) or via internet at www.sonyericssonopen.com. An electrifying two weeks of tennis conclude with the women’s final on Saturday, April 2 and the men’s final on Sunday, April 3.

Blake will make his return to Miami, hoping to improve on his career-best quarterfinal showings in 2006 and 2008. Safina made her last appearance on the purple courts in 2009 as the No. 2 seeded player advancing to the third round. She recorded her career-best finish in 2008 when she advanced to the quarterfinals.

Blake, always a fan favorite, earned his first ATP win in 2002 becoming the fourth African American to win an ATP title in the Open Era. In 2005, Blake grabbed the national spotlight at the U.S. Open when he played a thrilling five-set match in the quarter finals against his idol, Andre Agassi. From there, Blake’s career blossomed tremendously as he reached his career-high of No. 4 in the world in 2006 becoming the first African American to crack the top-10 since his role model, Arthur Ashe.

Safina made her professional debut in 2002. The Russian star recorded a breakout season in 2008 winning a career-best four singles titles. In 2008, she was awarded the WTA Most Improved Player, and was the first player in history to defeat three reigning World No. 1s in the same season (Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, and Jelena Jankovic). Safina reached a career-high rank of No. 1 in the world in 2009, and joined her brother Marat Safin as the first brother-sister combo to both achieve World No. 1 rankings.

In addition to Blake and Safina the tournament wildcards include many of the Tour’s next generation of tennis stars.

Men’s Main Draw Wildcards
James Blake
Jack Sock
Ryan Harrison
Milos Raonic
Bernard Tomic

Men’s Qualifying Wildcards
Gastao Elias
Filip Krajinovic

Women’s Main Draw Wildcards
Dinara Safina
Heather Watson
Madison Keys
Sabine Lisicki
Coco Vandeweghe
Sorana Cirstea

Women’s Qualifying Draw Wildcards
Michelle Larcher de Brito
Lauren Davis
Carina Witthoeft
Aleksandra Wozniak
Beatrice Capra
Sloane Stevens

Two-time US Open quarterfinalist James Blake (Tampa, Fla.) and a talented group of Americans consisting of Bradley Klahn (Poway, Calif.), Jack Sock (Lincoln, Neb.), Ryan Sweeting (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), and Donald Young (Atlanta), along with two international players -- Australian Carsten Ball and Guillaume Rufin of France -- have been awarded men's singles main-draw wild-card entries into the 2010 US Open Tennis Championships. One additional wild card will be given to the winner of the 2010 US Open Wild Card Playoffs, held August 18-20 at the USTA Player Development Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. The 2010 US Open will be played August 30 - September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Both the men's and women's US Open singles champions will earn $1.7 million, with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total potential payout of $2.7 million) based on their performance in the 2010 Olympus US Open Series. The US Open Men's Singles Championship is presented by Mercedes-Benz USA. Blake, 30, of Tampa, Fla., has won 10 career singles titles on the ATP World Tour and reached a career-high of No. 4 in 2006. He reached consecutive quarterfinals at the US Open in 2005-06, and in 2008 he upset Roger Federer en route to a fourth place finish at the Beijing Olympics. A long-time Davis Cup stalwart, Blake helped lead the U.S. to the 2007 Davis Cup title. Blake, who grew up in nearby Fairfield, Conn., has been hampered by injuries in 2010 and is currently No. 107. Blake last received a US Open wild card in 2005, when he was also ranked No. 107 at the time of the entry deadline. His quarterfinal finish that year ranks second all-time for best US Open finish by a wild card.

Young, 21, of Atlanta is ranked No. 101 and has bounced back in 2010 to approach the Top 100 for the first time since 2008, reaching the semifinals or better at six USTA Pro Circuit Challengers and advancing to the second round at the Australian Open. He first broke into the Top 100 in 2007 by reaching the third round at the US Open. As a junior standout, Young was a two-time junior Grand Slam tournament champion (2005 Australian Open, 2007 Wimbledon) and in 2005 became the youngest-ever year-end world junior No. 1.