Top seeds headline Friday Quarterfinal matches
The Farmers Classic presented by Mercedes Benz is played at UCLA's LA Tennis Center this week. The tournament's top two seeds, Mardy Fish and Juan Martin del Potro, will headline Friday's quarterfinals on Straus Stadium. Del Potro, the second seed, will play under the lights at 7:30 PM against Ernests Gulbis, while top seeded Fish gets the day shift, playing at 4 p.m. against No. 8 Igor Kunitsyn. The other quarterfinals will feature 19-year-old American Ryan Harrison against Yen-Hsun Lu at noon and No. 4 Thomaz Bellucci against Alex Bogomolov, Jr., at 4:00 PM on the Grandstand.
Thursday delivered big wins for top seeds
Mardy Fish was successful in his 2011 Farmers Classic debut as he recorded a 7-6(1) 6-1 win over Gilles Muller on Thursday night. Fourth seed Thomaz Bellucci was very efficient in his Los Angeles debut, needing less than an hour to defeat Alejandro Falla 6-0 6-1. In doubles action, the first of two semifinals was set, as the teams of Yen-Hsun Lu & Frank Moser and Mark Knowles & Xavier Malisse were victorious.
Randy Jackson and the Canyons
Music will take center stage at Farmers Classic on July 29 as Randy Jackson presents The Canyons. The Southern California band will perform at the LA Tennis Center before Friday's quarterfinal session and will also do an encore set after the first match of the evening session. The Canyons started in the imagination of Jackson as a collaboration of solo artists, namely Alisan Porter, Ilsey Juber and Jordan Lawhead.
Stars Shine at the Farmers Classic
Spot famous faces both on court and in the stands at The Farmers Classic. Wednesday's action was enjoyed by Bobby Brown and FX's "Justified" Timothy Olyphant. On Thursday Kevin Garnett and Wendie Malick checked out the matches, and so did Jon Lovitz. Also spotted walking around in tennis outfit looking for a match: Novak Djokovic (no joke!) See article LA Court Chatter Day 4.
Great tickets still available
Missed the early rounds? No worries, because the action continues this weekend! Tickets can still be purchased on for the Friday Quarterfinals, Saturday Semifinals, and Sunday Finals!
Tickets for 85th annual Farmers Classic presented by Mercedes-Benz are on sale now through Ticketmaster. More information can be found at www.FarmersClassic.com/Tickets or by calling (310) 824 -1010 ext. 251.
The Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, has been played every year since 1927, making it the longest-running annual professional sporting event in Los Angeles. Played since 1984 at the LA Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA, the tournament is part of the Olympus US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events to the US Open, culminating each week with back-to-back men's and womens finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. Proceeds from the Farmers Classic Presented by Mercedes-Benz benefit the grassroots programs of the non-profit Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) and UCLA. The SCTA offers programs, leagues, and tournaments involving 300,000 juniors and 50,000 adults and seniors.
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