NEWPORT - The teen phenom once part of the new wave of young American tennis players is 26 now, and this year is the headliner for the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.

Mardy Fish, 39th on the most recent ATP entry rankings, is the top seed for the July 7-13 tournament on the grass at the Newport Casino. This may be difficult to believe, but Fish will be making his seventh appearance at the historic playground on Bellevue Avenue.

When he first visited, he was one of a group of American players that the tennis hierarchy believed had the potential to follow in the footsteps of Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Michael Chang and Andre Agassi. Andy Roddick, James Blake, Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri were also part of that group. They traveled and practiced together and settled in the same Florida neighborhoods.

They have enjoyed success - Roddick is a former U.S. Open champion - but have not begun to approach the level of success of Hall of Famers Sampras and Courier; Chang, who will be inducted this year, or Agassi, who no doubt will be elected in his first year of eligibility.

Injuries have plagued Dent and Blake, and Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have plagued them all.

Still, all except Roddick got an early start on the Newport grass, and when one returns, it's a homecoming, of sorts.

Fish had one of his biggest victories early this year when he upset Federer at Indian Wells, Calif. Last year, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He has won two singles and three doubles titles in his career after returning from the 2004 Olympics with a silver medal. His best finish in Newport was the quarterfinals in 2000, 2002 and 2006.

Fabrice Santoro of France is returning to defend his title. He was the oldest player (34) to win a singles crown on the ATP circuit last year, and he won the admiration of the Newport crowd with his stylish play and gentlemanly demeanor. The championship was the fifth of his career and his first on grass. He is ranked 54th.

"He seemed to create his own following at Newport. People are excited that he's coming back because he may retire this year," said Mark Stenning, CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The remaining seeded players are in the Top 100 and include Nicolas Mahut of France at 58th, the runner-up last year; Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, at 79th; American John Isner, 83rd, who made his pro debut here last year after an All-American career at the University of Georgia; Frank Dancevic of Canada, 95th, the top-ranked Canadian; Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 98th, who upset Nvak Djokovic in the third round of the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., this year, and American Vince Spadea, 99th, a quarterfinalist at Adelaide and Delray Beach this year.

Santoro, 35, is the oldest player in the draw. Isner, at 6-foot-9, is the tallest, although Anderson, at 6-7, is almost as tall.

Prakash Amritraj of India, son of former Newport champ Vijay Amritraj, has received a wild card.

Stenning attended International Tennis Federation and Hall of Fame board meetings in London during the first week of Wimbledon and was dangling his two remaining wild cards in front to Ginepri, Dent and Tommy Haas.

He might have made a pitch for Roddick and Blake after their early demise.

The Newport draw may lack star power but it does feature five players who are No. 1 first in their respective nations: Dancevic of Canada, Anderson of South Africa, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, Kristian Pless of Denmark and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan. Paul Capdeville is No. 2 in Chile, Rik De Voest No. 2 in South Africa and Amritraj No. 2 in India.

Ticket sales are down from last year, when Sampras was inducted into the Hall of Fame, but ahead of 2006, Stenning said. Chang, Eugene Scott (posthumously) and Mark McCormack (posthumously) will be inducted this year. Only 250 tickets remained for July 12, the day of the induction ceremonies. Carl Chang will introduce his brother. Monica Seles will present McCormack's name and John McEnroe will present Scott's.

Tennis Week 2008 will start July 5-6 with Family Weekend. Adults ($10), children under 14 ($5) and families ($25 for four) will be able to watch qualifying matches and demonstrations.

In addition to the singles and doubles finals on July 13, the annual Hall of Fame Classic will take place in conjunction with the Gullikson Foundation. Hall of Famers Stan Smith and Change, former pros Todd Martin and Tom Gullikson and others will play an exhibition at 10 a.m.

For details or tickets, go to tennisfame.com or call 866-914-FAME.