IRVING, Texas, Feb. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2014 Irving Tennis Classic, an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour event held annually at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, today announced that the City of Irving will serve as the main event sponsor changing the tournament's name from the Dallas Tennis Classic to the Irving Tennis Classic.

New to this year's schedule, guests will be able to enjoy night matches from Tuesday through Friday, and main draw matches will begin later in the day at 1 p.m. During the finals weekend, there will be an interactive kid zone hosted by the Dallas Tennis Association, a Battle of the Clubs Round Robin and the SMU men's tennis team will compete in a college dual match to kick things off on Championship Sunday morning.

"This is an excellent opportunity to get national and international exposure and market Irving, while also creating the possibility for local businesses to work with corporate sponsors," said Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne. "The ATP Irving Tennis Classic also will allow Irving youth a unique and possibly once in a lifetime chance to interact with some of the best tennis players in the world."

The Irving Tennis Classic first began as the Dallas Tennis Classic in 2012 as a professional men's ATP Challenger Tour event, which offers $125,000 in prize money, and features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. Over the past three years, this tennis tournament has grown immensely and attracted an outstanding field of internationally ranked players.

The tournament acceptance list for the Irving Tennis Classic was also announced today, which includes highest ranked No. 26 Vasek Pospisil from Canada, and three other players ranked in the top 50 on the ATP Tour. Former world No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis accepted a wild card to return and play in this event again. This is a strong draw with 18 different nationalities represented, in which seven of those countries top-ranked players will be competing in this tournament. Also returning to the Irving Tennis Classic is 2013 singles and doubles defending champion and No. 37 ranked Jurgen Melzer, who owns two Grand Slam doubles titles and one mixed title to his name. Other notable players coming to Irving include No. 43 Denis Istomin and No. 49 Lukas Rosol, who defeated Rafael Nadal on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2012.

Typically, players positioned in the top 50 in the Emirates ATP rankings are not allowed to play in Challenger events. However, an exception applies for the Irving Tennis Classic, encouraging these highly ranked players to compete for the largest prize money purse on the ATP Challenger calendar.

"Top players are drawn to this tournament because of its location and the fact that it is conveniently scheduled between the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, and the Sony Open Miami, Florida," said Irving Tennis Classic Tournament Director Zoltan Papp. "This tournament serves as the perfect stop on the Challenger Tour for players en route to Miami."

The Irving Tennis Classic will begin March 10 and run through March 16, 2014 at the prestigious Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas. Tickets are being sold through the tournament website at www.IrvingTennisClassic.com.

Below is the 24-player entry list, which includes the youngest player in the top 100 and recently named ATP Star of Tomorrow, 20-year-old Dominic Thiem. To complete the 32-field singles draw there will be an additional three wild cards given, and four others will qualify to advance to the main draw.

About Irving Tennis Classic

The ATP Irving Tennis Classic (previously Dallas Tennis Classic) is an international level Challenger event governed by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) offering $125,000 in prize money. The tournament features a 32-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The annual event is held between the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and the Sony Open Tennis in Miami, Florida. For more information about the Irving Tennis Classic at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, go to the tournament's website at IrvingTennisClassic.com or follow the tournament on Twitter (@irvingclassic).

Carla Rosenberg 
Matchpoint Agency 
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