Aug. 20, 2007
White Plains, N.Y. – Former University of Notre Dame men’s tennis All-American Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y.) was one of nine men awarded wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 21-24 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Bass is scheduled to play Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. against Bjorn Phau, who is ranked #148 in the world. Phau is seeded #32 in the qualifying event. Bass must win three matches to qualify for the main draw.
Bass, who participated in this summer’s Pan-American Games, was named an ITA All-American in the spring and ended the year ranked 10th in the country. The ITA Senior Player of the Year for the Midwest Region was the 17th different Irish men’s tennis player to be tabbed an All-American. In 2007, Bass went 36-11, was named the BIG EAST Performer of the Year and spent most of the year ranked among the top 10 in the country. He finished his career sixth on the all-time victory list with a 109-46 record.
Bass was awarded the 2007 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s John Van Nostrand Memorial Award, given to an outstanding senior men’s player who plans to pursue a professional tennis career upon graduation. A three-time All-Big East selection, Bass rose to No. 11 in the USTA Boys’ 18s and reached the final of the 2003 USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court Championships and won the Florida Gator Bowl and the ITF Canadian Open in 2003. He is currently ranked No. 1022 in the world and reached the semifinals of the USTA Futures in Vero Beach, Fla., earlier this summer.
The 2007 US Open will mark the culmination of the US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking all major ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments in North America to the US Open. The US Open is the highest annually-attended sporting event in the world. More than 95 million viewers watched the 2006 US Open on CBS Sports and USA Network, and international broadcasts reached more than 180 countries.
Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.4 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.4 million potential payout) based on their performance in the US Open Series. In addition, both US Open singles champions will receive a new Lexus automobile.
The 2007 US Open will be held Monday, August 27 through Sunday, September 9. Tickets for the 2007 US Open can be purchased four ways: 1) at usopen.org; 2) by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866-OPEN-TIX; 3) at all Ticketmaster outlets; or 4) at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office. American Express is the Official Card of the US Open.
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