Tennis

Miami Tennis Cup

Andy Roddick, Andy Murray head 6-man field for inaugural Miami Tennis Cup exhibition

 

Organizers announced the inaugural Miami Tennis Cup, a six-player exhibition tournament to be held at Crandon Park.

 

Andy Roddick of the United States waves to the crowd after losing to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their men's singles fourth round match on Day Ten of the 2012 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 5, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood, of the Queens borough of New York City.
Andy Roddick of the United States waves to the crowd after losing to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their men's singles fourth round match on Day Ten of the 2012 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 5, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood, of the Queens borough of New York City.
Mike Stobe / Getty Images for USTA

mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com

Turns out South Florida tennis fans will get a chance to see retired Andy Roddick play in Key Biscayne at least one more time. The former world No. 1 and Boca Raton resident, who played his last professional match at the recent U.S. Open, is one of six players scheduled to compete in the inaugural Miami Tennis Cup, an exhibition tournament Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 at the Crandon Park Tennis Center.

Reigning U.S. Open and Olympic champion Andy Murray will also participate, as will Spaniards Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Almagro, top-ranked American John Isner and Colombian Alejandro Falla. The tournament format is double-elimination and round-robin.

All the matches will take place on the stadium court, which will be transformed from purple and green to the first-ever white court with red lines and a blue surrounding area.

The idea for the red, white and blue court is to commemorate the American flag. The event is being put on by Group NOS, an Argentine sports and entertainment promoter.

“We are pleased to announce the first annual Miami Tennis Cup, a premium and world-class competition featuring today’s most exciting top-ranked players,” said Julian Wortelboer, president and CEO of Group NOS. “We are honored to have not only some of the most iconic tennis professionals competing, but some of the most legendary individuals from the world of sport — including an Olympic Gold medal winner, a U.S. Open champion and a French Open champion.

“With our introduction of the first-ever stadium court in white, our signature colors will make the spectator experience unlike any other and establish Miami Tennis Cup as a must-see event each year on the world tennis calendar.”

Each match will be best-of-3 sets, and the six players will be divided into two round-robin groups. Murray will be the No. 1 seed and Roddick the No. 2 seed. They will receive automatic byes into the semifinal round.

The remaining four players will be drawn against each other for a place in the semifinals.

Opening matches are Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. The first semifinal is Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. The final is Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. and the championship trophy and check will be presented by a “surprise star’’ from the tennis world, according to tournament organizers.

Isner plays Ferrero and Almagro plays Falla in the opening round. The winner of the Isner-Ferrero match plays Murray in the semifinal. The winner of the Almagro-Falla match plays Roddick.

The event also will include a USTA 12-under junior tournament on Dec. 1-2. The matches will be played on Courts 1 and 2. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster starting at $50 (general admission). A three-day pass starts at $118 (300 Level — general admission).

The Miami Tennis Cup has a partnership with the nonprofit Shake-A-Leg Miami, an adaptive water-sports facility in Coconut Grove that serves able-bodied and disabled people who want to enjoy the bay. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to that organization.

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