Rafael Nadal (currently injured) beat Fognini in last year’s final…Leo Mayer (2014) is the only former champ in the field.

Pulling from the tournament were Roger Federer (knee surgery) and Janko Tipsarevic…The absent Federer is the two-time defending champ, beating Djokovic in last year’s final…Federer and Djokovic have won the last seven titles between them…Djokovic (2013,’11-09) is the lone former champ in the field.

Dominic Thiem followed up his earlier upset of King of Clay Rafael Nadal to beat another Spanish veteran, Nicolas Almagro 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4) in the Sunday final of the Argentina Open.

Rafael Nadal is now struggling on the clay. Taylor Fritz closes in on the Top 100.

All 16 seeds receive opening-round byes, but some potential interesting second-rounders with (12) Pospisil vs. (WC) Haas, (4) Gasquet vs. the hot-handed Muller, break-up boy (6) Dimitrov vs. the resurgent Baghdatis, and (7) Lopez vs. (WC) Hewitt on his retirement tour…

Tough starts for (1) Venus in the 2nd rd. vs. the Bastad runner-up Barthel, (4) Cornet vs. Wickmayer, (5) Giorgi vs. Cibulkova, and (2) Svitolina vs. Rybarikova…Veterans Daniela Hantuchova and Francesca Schiavone also floating around…Wildcards went to Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay and Ipek Soylu, and the No. 4 seed Cornet…Pulling from the event were Belinda Bencic, Alexandra Dulgheru, Kristina Mladenovic, Monica Niculescu and Flavia Pennetta…Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat No. 2 Roberta Vinci in last year’s final…Pavlyuchenkova (2010) is the lone returning former champ in the field.

Notes: Tough draws go to (1) Ferrer after a bye potentially vs. Baghdatis…Wildcards went to Brits Kyle Edmund and James Ward, American Taylor Harry Fritz, and German Alexander Zverev…

The first-ever ATP World Tour event in Turkey debuts, with organizers spending for Roger Federer to mark the occasion…The Top 4 seeds receive opening-round byes, but potential tough starts for (7) Youzhny vs. Bellucci, and (5) Haider-Maurer vs. Dodig…Wildcards were awarded to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, Turkey’s Cem Ilkel, and Russian Andrey Rublev.

“It feels incredible,” Sock said. “Clay is my favorite surface. It feels surreal. It feels incredible, and to have friends and family here to share it with me feels even better.”

The Bryan brothers, coming off the Miami Open title, are the top seeds in doubles…The tournament celebrates its 15th year in Houston after moving about in the U.S. since 1910…Former champs in the field are Verdasco (2014), Isner (2013), and Hewitt (2009).

Rafael Nadal was cut down by a qualifier in Beijing today.

The No. 111-ranked Klizan drove away with the first-place prize money and a white BMW 420d Convertible car. “I had problems with my stomach throughout last night,” Klizan said. “I think I slept only 30 minutes and I am now very tired. I was down after losing the first set, but I just wanted to keep fighting.”

Notes: Will Isner pull out after his draining run in Cincinnati? Probably…Not a lot of floating talent, and all 16 seeds receive first-round byes…Potentially tough opening-round match-ups for seeds after byes include (11) Nieminen vs. (WC) Fish, (9) Melzer vs. the rising Dutchman Sijsling, and (5) Paire vs. Blake…Other wildcards went to Berdych, Spain’s Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, and Belgian Romain Bogaerts…Pulling from the event were Carlos Berlocq, Nikolay Davydenko, Marcel Granollers, Tommy Haas, Albert Ramos, the doping-suspended Viktor Troicki, and Horacio Zeballos…Isner is the two-time defending champion, last year beating Berdych in the final.

Notes: Two-time defending champ Serena Williams obviously didn’t like the under-the-table appearance fee to appear in Stanford, passing on the event and last week playing the tiny Swedish Open in Bastad, which was willing to pony-up some major cash…Tough starts are (1) Radwanska after a bye possibly facing the former Slam champ Schiavone, (8) Rybarikova vs. the explosive Keys, and (2) Stosur after a bye likely facing the powerful Goerges….Wildcards went to American Nicole Gibbs and Croat Ajla Tomljanovic…Pulling from the event were Marion Bartoli (hamstring), Kirsten Flipkens, Sabine Lisicki (wrist), and Maria Sharapova (hip)…Since 1990, 20 of the 23 champions have been Slam winners, but this year there are no returning champions in the field.

Notes: Not the prettiest field for the million-dollar oil-laden event, as the top dogs take the exo cash this week in Abu Dhabi…”Gasquet Back!” says the ATP website!…(8) Andujar opens against the Wimbledon Nadal-killer Rosol, and (3) Kohlschreiber will likely meet Monfils in the second round…Of the seeded players, only Youzhny and Troicki have career winning records in Doha…Davydenko (2010) is the lone returning champ in the field.