Strongest Playing Field in Cincinnati Tennis History Announced
Monday, July 13, 2009 9:56 PM ETCINCINNATI , July 13, 2009 – The commitment list was announced for the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters & Women’s Open is the strongest in the 111-year history of the event.
Only 44 men and 45 women are given direct acceptance into each singles draw, and the last man on the preliminary list is ranked No. 44 while the last woman is ranked No. 49.
“This is the first year for our upgraded women’s event, and both the men’s and women’s fields will be spectacular,” said tournament director Bruce Flory. “Fans will see all the world’s best players back-to-back in Cincinnati in August.”
The women kick off play first, and 18 of the top 20 are in the field, led by world No. 1 Dinara Safina as well as Serena Williams , the current holder of three of the four Grand Slam titles. Venus Williams , this year’s Wimbledon finalist, joins her sister in Cincinnati as does reigning French Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and reigning Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Dementieva . They will be joined by former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters who is making her return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in Cincinnati.
The men’s tournament is equally stacked, with French Open and Wimbledon champion and newly re-seated world No. 1 Roger Federer looking to add a third Cincinnati title. No. 2 Rafael Nadal is expected to return to the place where he clinched the world No. 1 ranking last year. American and Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick will look for a third Cincinnati title. Defending champion and world No. 3 Andy Murray , last year’s finalist Novak Djokovic , and fan favorite James Blake are expected to play as well.
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