HOUSTON (Jan. 24, 2024) – Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, finalist at the 2023 Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, will return March 30-April 7 to see if he can go one step further when the ATP Tour returns River Oaks Country Club, the tournament announced today.
Etcheverry is the fifth player to commit to this year’s tournament, joining defending champion Frances Tiafoe and his fellow Americans Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Chris Eubanks.
“I think many of our fans really enjoyed seeing Tomas last year,” said Tournament Director Bronwyn Greer. “He battled tremendously hard to reach last year’s final and he strengthens the field we are looking forward to welcoming to River Oaks in a few weeks.”
Last year at River Oaks, Etcheverry contested the second ATP Tour final of his career, having reached his first just a month earlier. Playing in his debut US Clay and seeded eighth, he fell to top seed and world No. 15 Tiafoe in a thrilling final, 7-6(1), 7-6(6). Following the tournament, Etcheverry rose to a then-career-high ranking of No. 59.
Houston was a preview of his prowess on clay as he went on to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, where he upset two seeds and catapulted to No. 30 in the ATP rankings.
Last week at the Australian Open, the 24-year-old ousted three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray and Gael Monfils, both in straight sets, to reach the third round. He is expected to reach yet another career-high, No. 28, in next week’s rankings.
Tiafoe, Paul and Shelton are all ranked among the world’s Top 20, and Eubanks is in the Top 35. Tiafoe will be back for his sixth US Clay event and Paul his fourth, while Shelton and Eubanks will make their main draw debuts in Houston. Like Etcheverry, all four have made the quarterfinals or better at a Grand Slam tournament.
At last year’s US Clay, Tiafoe became the highest ranked Houston champion at No. 15 and first top seed to win since No. 4 Andy Roddick in 2005. He followed it two months later by winning a grass court event to own titles on all three surfaces – hard, clay and grass. His two titles in 2023 helped propel him into the world’s Top 10 for the first time.
The entry list for the 2024 tournament will be released in early March.
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