What do Stanford alums Sam Warburg and Paul Goldstein have in common with Andy Roddick, James Blake and Marat Safin? All are familiar names on the ATP Tour and are competing this week in the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif.

The tournament is the second oldest tennis tournament in the United States and is celebrating its 119th year in the Bay Area. In its 14th year at HP Pavilion, the tournament will host Roddick, Blake, Safin and Andy Murray as this year’s headliners.

Murray is the tournament’s defending champion and is currently ranked 13th on the tour. The 19-year-old from Scotland was one of only two players in 2006 to defeat top-ranked Roger Federer, with the upset coming in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters, 7-5, 6-4. The upset in Cincinnati was the only tournament Federer entered last year in which he failed to reach the finals. Murray faces the United States’ Kevin Kim tonight in the first round.

Murray’s title run in San Jose in 2006 marked his first ATP Tour title. En route to his victory, Murray knocked out two former world No. 1’s: Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Ironically, Murray is now coached by Brad Gilbert, Roddick’s former coach.

Roddick is the tournament’s top seed and is currently ranked fourth in the world. The 24-year-old won back-to-back titles in San Jose in 2004 and 2005, winning the tournament the first two years he competed in it. Last year, Roddick fell to Murray, 7-5, 7-5, in the semifinals. The top-ranked American recently joined forces with Jimmy Connors and has reemerged with volleys and a backhand that are more of a weapon than they have been in the past. Roddick’s first-round match is scheduled for tomorrow night against Frank Dancevic of Canada.

At sixth in the world, Blake is the second-highest ranked American after Roddick. The former Harvard player will hit the court following Roddick’s match tomorrow night and will face Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn. As the fifth seed in this tournament in 2006, Blake fell in the first round in straight sets.

The SAP Open has been trying to recruit Safin to play in San Jose since 1999, and this year, the 6-foot-4 Russian will finally be making an appearance as the tournament’s fourth seed. Currently No. 24 in the world, Safin is a former world No. 1 and a two-time Grand Slam winner. Safin will face wildcard Scott Oudsema of Michigan.

Warburg and Goldstein competed yesterday in the tournament’s opening day of play. Entering the tournament as a wildcard, Warburg won over American Amer Delic in the first round of competition, 6-4, 6-3. Before graduating from Stanford in 2005, Warburg won the NCAA doubles title in 2004 and is currently ranked No. 184 in the world. The former Cardinal won his first-round match at the SAP in 2006 before falling to Hewitt in the second round. No. 87 Delic played for the University of Illinois and is a former NCAA singles champion. The two have only played each other once before, with Delic narrowly edging out Warburg, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).

Goldstein, another Stanford graduate, fell in defeat to wildcard American Sam Querrey last night, 6-2, 6-1. During his time on The Farm, Goldstein won four NCAA team championships, including leading his team to a 28-0 record during his senior year. At 6-foot-6, Querrey is an up-and-comer for the U.S., often being named as America’s next big talent. After turning pro in 2006, Querrey advanced to the third round of the Australian Open and is currently No. 92 in the world. The two Americans have only faced each other once, with Goldstein defeating Querrey in Korea last year, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The playing surface of the SAP’s indoor court is latexite surfacing that has been adjusted to play 50 percent faster this year. The mixture of the court surface includes water and sand from the beaches of Monterey, and this year’s court surface lacks sand in the final coat. Tournament director Bill Rapp explained the reason for the change in ball pace this year in simple terms. The players who the tournament wanted desired to play on a faster court, so with the big names slated to appear in this year’s tournament, there’s no doubt that the pace will be faster and the caliber of play will be high.