A loaded American field this week kicks off the claycourt season at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in
Houston, where
James Blake,
Mardy Fish and
Sam Querrey are among the seeds.
Other seeded players are
Jurgen Melzer,
Jeremy Chardy, defending champ
Marcel Granollers,
Diego Junqueira, and
Maximo Gonzalez.
Other Americans in the field are wildcards Taylor Dent and
John Isner,
Wayne Odesnik, and
Robert Kendrick.
Former world No. 2
Tommy Haas also received a wildcard.
The top-seeded Blake opens in a tough meeting against
Guillermo Canas, and could meet Dent in the second round.
The No. 7-seeded Junqueira also has a difficult opener against former No. 1
Lleyton Hewitt.
The No. 2-seeded Fish starts against German
Bjorn Phau.
In last year's final the unseeded Granollers defeated the top-seeded Blake 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
