Querrey, Fish added to SAP Open in San Jose

Sam Querrey, a native of nearby San Francisco,
will play in the SAP Open in San Jose for the
eighth straight year. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two more American stars, both with Northern California ties, entered the SAP Open.
   San Francisco native Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish, both of whom played part-time for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis this season, committed to the Feb. 11-17 tournament at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., organizers announced Wednesday.
   It will be the 125th and last SAP Open. The second-oldest tournament in the United States will be replaced on the calendar by Rio de Janeiro beginning in 2014.
   The demise of the SAP Open and move of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles to Bogota, Colombia, beginning next year will leave California with only the popular BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on the ATP World Tour. The women's tour has Indian Wells, Stanford in the San Francisco Bay Area and Carlsbad in the San Diego region.
  The addition of the 22nd-ranked Querrey and No. 27 Fish gives the SAP Open the top three Americans. They will join No. 14 John Isner.

Mardy Fish plans to end a 5 1/2-month layoff
in February in San Jose. Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Also entered are two-time defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 18 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, past SAP Open champions Lleyton Hewitt (2002) of Australia and Fernando Verdasco (2010) of Spain, and reigning Olympic men's doubles gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States.
   The 6-foot-6 Querrey, 25, will play in the SAP Open for the eighth straight year. He reached the 2010 semifinals -- losing to Andy Roddick 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) -- and 2009 quarterfinals and won the 2010 doubles title with Fish. However, Querrey has lost in the first round of singles for the past two years.

   Fish, who has battled a heart problem since last spring, plans to end a 5 1/2-month layoff in San Jose. He has been sidelined since defaulting a fourth-round match against Roger Federer in the U.S. Open in early September.
   Fish, who will turn 31 on Sunday, advanced to the singles final at San Jose in 2004 (losing to his close friend Roddick) and 2009 (falling to Radek Stepanek) and won the doubles title in 2004 (with James Blake) in addition to 2010.
   Ticket packages and group tickets for the SAP Open are available by calling (408) ACE-2121. Individual session tickets will go on sale in January. For more information, visit www.sapopentennis.com.  

CALENDAR

   Jan. 14-27, 2013 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, www.australianopen.org. 2012 champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Leander Paes-Radek Stepanek, Svetlana Kuznetsova-Vera Zvonareva.
   Jan. 15 -- Sacramento State men at Stanford in spring season opener for both teams, 1:30 p.m, www.hornetsports.com, www.gostanford.com.
   Jan. 18 -- Stanford women open spring season at Freeman Invitational in Las Vegas and at NCTC Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., times TBA, www.gostanford.com. UC Davis women open spring season vs. Northern Arizona in Tempe, Ariz., 1 p.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com.
   Jan. 19 -- UC Davis men at Santa Clara in spring season opener for both teams, 10 a.m., www.ucdavisaggies.com, www.santaclarabroncos.com.
   Feb. 1 -- Sacramento State women open spring season at Arizona, 12:30 p.m., www.hornetsports.com.
   Feb. 1-3, 2013 -- Davis Cup, first round, United States vs. Brazil in Jacksonville, Fla., www.daviscup.com.
   Feb. 9-10, 2013 -- Fed Cup, first round, United States at Italy, www.fedcup.com.
   Feb. 11-17, 2013 -- SAP Open, HP Pavilion in San Jose, www.sapopentennis.com. 2012 champions: Milos Raonic, Mark Knowles-Xavier Malisse.
   March 4-17, 2013 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. 2012 champions: Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Marc Lopez-Rafael Nadal, Liezel Huber-Lisa Raymond.

   April 26-28 -- Big Sky Conference men's and women's tournament, Gold River Racquet Club, Gold River, Calif., www.bigskyconf.com.