LEXINGTON, Ky. ? This year?s winner of the Charles Fluitt Invitational will receive a bigger reward than tournament ranking points and NCAA-level impact wins. The champion this fall will secure a spot in the 2008 ATP Masters Series qualifying draw in Cincinnati, co-director of the Fluitt Invitational and UK head men?s tennis Coach Dennis Emery announced today.
This year?s event will be played October 13-15 and will feature 20 top collegiate men. Several top players have already committed to compete, including five ranked in the preseason top-10. The quintet includes No. 3 Arnau Brugues (Tulsa), No. 4 Travis Helgeson (Georgia), No. 5 Luke Shields (Boise State), No. 9 Ryan Rowe (Illinois) and No. 10 Greg Ouellette (Florida).
Lexington will host The Fluitt Invitational for the next two years at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus due to construction at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. After the two-year commitment, the tournament will return to the newly renovated facility in suburban Cincinnati built to accommodate a combined event for both men?s and women?s tennis.
?Due to construction at the Lindner Center site, we had to step back from hosting and decided to move the event to Lexington for the next two years,? tournament co-director Brett DeCurtins said. ?The great thing is that this year we will be able to ramp up the event with the wildcard going to the winner. Our vision is for a combined event that mirrors the ATP and WTA tournaments in Mason each August.?
UK sponsors the Charles Fluitt Invitational in memory of the late Charles Fluitt who was a victim of the 1996 ValuJet plane crash in the Florida Everglades. He was the father of former UK tennis star Marcus Fluitt. To honor their fallen friend of UK tennis, Court No. 4 of the Boone Varsity Tennis Center was dedicated as the Charles Fluitt Memorial Court.
Emery is thrilled to host the event, ?I have thought for years that the best way to attract and keep the top U.S. talent in college tennis was to show the opportunities they can get at the next level while receiving a top-notch education. Partnerships like these make that possible for our best young talent in America.?
The Cincinnati event ranks just behind the four major grand slams of the tennis season in prestige and the quality of players represented. As part of the ATP Masters Series, the tournament is mandatory for players ranked high enough to enter creating fields that are among the toughest in the sport. With the world?s top men automatically entered into the main draw, some of the best players in the world, ranked just below 44th, need to play in the qualifying tournament for one of the last dozen spots. This opportunity to play some of the top-100 men?s tennis players in the world awaits the winner of the Fluitt Invitational.
?(ATP Masters Cincinnati tournament chairman) Paul Flory and (tournament director) Bruce Flory are not just committed to building the best pro event in the world, but strengthen tennis across the board,? said Emery. ?They have supported junior and inner-city tennis since the inception of the event. Now they are helping grow collegiate tennis in both communities.?
For more information on the ATP Masters Event in Cincinnati, visit Cincytennis.com. Coverage of the event will be posted on ukathletics.com.
