GAME, SET, MATCH

John Isner on his way to winning the Atlanta Open last summer

By Holly Haber

Professional tennis returns to Big D for the first time in 33 years with the Dallas Open men’s tournament running Feb. 6-13 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex at Southern Methodist University.

One of only 10 ATP Tour events in the U.S. and the only one held indoors, Dallas Open will feature more than 60 top players, including hometown star John Isner, and a total purse of $770,000.

Isner holds records for the fastest serve ever — a phenomenal 157.2 mph — and the second most aces on the ATP Tour (12,000-plus). He is acting as the Dallas Open’s host and envisions himself eventually working for the tournament.

“I moved to Dallas four years ago and I had no idea of the love that this town has for the sport of tennis, but right away I saw firsthand the passion for tennis that’s here,” he says. “I immersed myself in the community, and from that point on I thought that Dallas should host a top-level tennis event.”

The tourney will feature 28 main draw singles players, 32 doubles players and 16 qualifiers. It was previously held as the New York Open at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

Producer GF Sports & Entertainment, which also manages the Truist Atlanta Open and other events, says the Dallas Open will have a cozier atmosphere than was possible in the vast Nassau Coliseum.

“By coming here to SMU and Dallas, we can create an intimate atmosphere that is a tremendous experience for fans and for players,” says tournament director Peter

Lebedevs. “They will feel the people right next to them.”

The tennis facility is fairly new, having opened in 2015, and has six indoor hard courts.

GF Sports & Entertainment will convert them into two match courts with a capacity of around 2,500 spectators, Lebedevs explains.

By way of comparison, U.S. Open center court Arthur Ashe Stadium seats more than 23,000.

GF promises “entertainment programming and unique experiential opportunities” throughout the tournament and intends to leverage its partnership with SMU into year-round business and community initiatives.

It also intends to highlight local youth and collegiate tennis teams and has extended a wild card Dallas Open slot to top SMU player Caleb Chakravarthi.

The Isner Family Foundation, which helps OUR COMPANY IS COMMITTED TO CREATING HEALTHY LIFESTYLE families with pediatric medical care and supports EVENTS AND TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF AMERICAN TENNIS AGAIN. Children’s Health, will kick off the tournament with a Feb. 4 fundraiser.

Both Lebedevs and Isner hope the Dallas Open will help revitalize American tennis.

Last May, there was a lot of handwringing over the fact that no American men ranked among the world’s top 30 players for the first time ever. Then, not a single American man or woman made the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open in September.

“Our company is committed to creating healthy lifestyle events and to raise the level of American tennis again,” Lebedevs says. “Being Dallas Open tournament at a college facility, we director Peter Lebedevs know we’ll impact SMU’s recruiting abilities.” Isner, who was ranked 24th at press time, observes, “I think the game needs to grow as much as possible because maybe it’s falling behind a little bit. I’m a fan of tennis in America and especially here in Dallas. We want this tournament to be a mainstay, and every time February rolls around — oh, tennis is in town.” A 15-time ATP Tour champion who has been on the professional circuit for 15 years, Isner says he plays as much as he can in the States because it’s where he does best. Plus, he’s a bit of a homebody. Naturally, the 36-year-old is looking toward the future. “I’m definitely towards the end of my career,” Isner says. “I still feel great, but I’m sure the day will come when I’m not playing anymore, and I’m sure I’ll take a role upstairs in this tournament as opposed to playing in it.” Isner’s wife, Madison, grew up in Dallas, and the A rendering of the Stadium Court at the Dallas Open couple have three children ages three and under. Dallas has major history in pro tennis. Two local oil fortune heirs — legendary sports promoter Lamar Hunt and businessman Al G. Hill Jr. — co-founded World

Championship Tennis in 1968, a men’s tour that ran through 1989 and nearly always held its final in Dallas. WTC forever impacted the game by dispensing with some long-held traditions, including dressing players in colored togs, encouraging cheers from the audience, and unabashedly promoting prize money and bonuses to attract top players. Dallas has certainly responded enthusiastically to the Dallas Open, with box seats selling out within three and a half weeks. “It’s absolutely amazing,” says Lebedevs. “Dallas may be the best tennis market I’ve ever seen. I think it’s going to be the place to be in February.”