A star-studded, pro tennis lineup arrives in Chattanooga Thursday night and Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis coach Jeff Clark will be near courtside enjoying the world class talent in action.

Led by rising tennis star Melanie Oudin and the world's best men's doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan, the Icy Hot Chattanooga Tennis Challenge brings pro tennis back to the Scenic City and McKenzie Arena for the first time since the winter of 1986.

The Thursday night lineup has Oudin taking on top junior Sloane Stephens at 6 p.m., followed by a 2-of-3 singles match with the Nos. 2 and 3 ranked American men in Sam Querrey and John Isner, respectively.

Querrey, at 6-6, and Isner, at 6-9, will then team to face the Bryan brothers, who are back from London where they captured the season-ending world doubles tournament this past Sunday.

Oudin, 18, is No. 49 in the world and reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open this past September, while Stephens, 16, is the highest ranked junior female American at No. 6.

American Mardy Fish was originally scheduled to play Isner, but is injured and Querrey's schedule is open and flies in from his home in southern California.

The Bryans will also face a pair of local players in Nathan Schley (Grace Academy) and Zachary McCormick (East Hamilton) in a tie-breaker match.

“I am thrilled that pro tennis is returning to Chattanooga and this is a great lineup,'' said Clark, who spoke Monday at the weekly Quarterback Club luncheon at Finley Stadium. “Tennis fans, and sports fans in general, in this area will see some world class talent on Thursday.''

Clark has seen pro talent first hand as he was part of a pro exhibition at McKenzie Arena in 1986.

Then a 12-year-old seventh grader at McCallie School, Clark teamed with Mats Wilander and faced Baylor School senior Andy Berke and John McEnroe, before Wilander and McEnroe squared off in a singles exhibition.

Wilander had won four of his seven grand slam singles titles by the time he visited Chattanooga 23 years ago and was the defending French Open champion, while McEnroe had won 14 of his 16 singles and doubles grand slam championships.

“I aced McEnroe once,'' said Clark with a smile who added that the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champ did lay on the court prior to a Clark first serve. “It was all in fun and it was great to be on the court with those players for a few games.''

The Chattanooga exhibition is part of a four-city Icy Hot Challenge as the players open in Birmingham on Wednesday, arrive in Chattanooga on Thursday, play in Atlanta on Friday and conclude the southeast tour at Belmont University in Nashville on Saturday.

“I enjoy these type of exhibitions and I look forward to being in Chattanooga on Thursday,'' said Querrey.

Tickets: Icy Hot Challenge tickets are $49-50 - $69.50 in the blue and gold sections and can be purchased at McKenzie Arena or go to TandSevents.com or IcyHotChattanoogaChallenge.com.

Clark not only looks forward to top quality tennis this week, but is excited about the upcoming spring season for the UTC women's tennis team.

“We had a great fall season with excellent results in three tournaments and will be ready for our spring season opener on Friday Jan. 29 against Lipscomb University at the Hixson Racquet Club,'' said coach Clark.

The forrmer McCallie and Vanderbilt player pointed to a strong freshman at No.1 singles in Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.,) who was 7-1 in the fall and won the MTSU Classic and teams with sophomore Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain) at No. 1 doubles. Hangstefer was 8-1 in doubles play..

“Jenna is solid at No.1 and pushes all the other players down the lineup which makes us strong top to bottom,'' stated Clark.

Nurik graduated as the valedictorian from Millsprings Academy (Alpharetta, Ga.) and was the No. 46 recruit nationally for the class of 2009 by TennisRecruiting.net.

UTC won four singles titles and one doubles crown at the local Steve Baras tournament, while the Mocs won 12 singles and five doubles matches at the Belmont Fall Classic in Nashville.

contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net