Pro tennis tournament returns to Boar's Head

Are you ready to watch some of the best pro tennis players in the world butt heads?

Interested to see if University of Virginia players can hold their own against the pros?

On Monday, main draw play of the $75,000 Virginia National Bank Men’s Pro Championship kicks off at The Boar’s Head Sports Club at 1 p.m.

All proceeds from ticket sales benefit Special Olympics Virginia.

The tournament, which includes singles and doubles play and runs through next Sunday, will be headlined by former Virginia player Somdev Devvarman. After ascending to a career-high ranking of No. 62 in the world in July, the former two-time NCAA champion is currently ranked No. 84.

“I think he’s made a great move this year,” said Boar’s Head Sports Club Tennis Director Jacek Wolicki, Devvarman’s former coach. “I’m hoping he’ll come here and do really well for the home crowd.”

Other big-name tour players in the event include Michael Russell, Bobby Reynolds and Chris Guccione.

One advantage that players like Devvarman might enjoy this year is the speed of the courts, which are playing slower after a recent resurfacing.

“I think that will help guys that have more of a baseline game than the guys with the big serves,” Wolicki said.

Last year Devvarman lost to the big-serving Guccione, a 6-foot-7 lefty.

“He was serving unbelievable and the courts were playing really fast,” Wolicki recalled. “I remember Somdev saying that when [Guccione is] serving that well he can beat anybody.”

Given Devvarman’s popularity, he will be in the featured match every night that he is still alive in the tournament. His matches will begin at approximately 6 p.m., according to Boar’s Head Sports Club Tournament Director Ron Manilla.

This year the tournament has increased its overall prize money by $25,000. Next year, the hope is to make it a $100,000 event — a move that could attract more top players.

“We want this to get bigger and bigger,” Manilla said. “We want it to be the best Challenger [event] in the mid-Atlantic.

“We hope it will continue to grow and someday will be a rival to the Legg Mason [tournament in Washington D.C.]. We would like nothing more.”

Wolicki says the timing of the event dovetails with that goal.

“We’ll be well-positioned,” he said. “Any guys that want to make a year-end surge — I think we’re positioning ourselves well to be one of the top Challengers not only here in the United States but in the world.”

As always, this year’s tournament will have plenty of local flavor. In addition to Devvarman, a host of Virginia alums will be in the event, including Michael Shabaz, Sanam Singh, Teddy Angelinos, Dom Inglot and Treat Huey.

“We look forward to this great community event every year,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland. “Every year we’ve had great success.

“We’re looking forward to another enjoyable week of tennis.”

Last season, Shabaz, still playing for Virginia at the time, made a run all the way to the tournament finals before losing to Robert Kendrick. Singh, meanwhile, made it to the semifinals.

Kendrick, the defending champion, will not be playing this year due to an ATP suspension for taking a banned substance.

Several current Virginia players, including Alex Domijan, Mitchell Frank and Jarmere Jenkins are going through qualifying action and are hoping to make it into the main draw. They compete as amateurs and don’t accept any prize money.

One of the coolest things about the event is you never know which players will wind up catapulting the rankings following the tournament. In recent years, American Donald Young and South African Kevin Anderson have used the event as a springboard to greater tour success.

Tickets are $12, $8 for Boar’s Head members. A weeklong pass can be purchased for $75.

“We’ve tried to make this more of an affordable event for locals to come out and watch some great tennis,” Manilla said.