This story was updated with tournament draw information.

Sven Holcombe can make history when 125 players compete in the 2011 Ann Arbor city singles tennis tournament that begins Wednesday.

Holcombe, an Australia native who moved to Ann Arbor in 2008, has been dominating the local tennis scene ever since, winning not only three straight men’s singles open division titles, but men’s and mixed doubles championships as well.

The tournament dates back to 1919. In that 92-year history, no one has won four straight titles in their division.

How is Holcombe preparing to defend his title for the fourth straight year?

“To be honest, I haven’t even thought about it,” Holcombe said. “I play occasionally with the guys at Varsity Tennis (Center).”

That’s not to say that Holcombe takes the Ann Arbor Area Community Tennis Association-sponsored event lightly.

In fact, he recalls struggling at times during the tournament.

“I think that even though I’ve won the last couple years, every year I’ve been down a set to nil,” Holcombe said. “I think very highly of the quality of opponents I play.”

He mentioned Juan Lopez -- whom Holcombe beat 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in last year’s final -- as a particular challenge because of his size and ability.

Lopez returns the compliment, calling Holcombe “an excellent player.” But what makes him so difficult to play against? According to other opponents, it’s a variety of things that add up to one talented player.

“Sven has some of the fastest feet, he is incredibly fast. It’s hard to get the ball past him,” said USPTA pro Daryl Fisher. “He has world class volleys, and uses them to force you to go places you don’t want to go.”

Eric Mitchell faced Holcombe last year, as well, and saw something in his game that he didn’t see in others.

“What separated him from everyone else is he has a really strong net game,” Mitchell said.

This year’s tournament starts Wednesday with men's 3.0 and 3.5 division first-round matches played at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center and Pioneer High School. It runs through Sunday, when finals are expected to start at 11:30 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.

A total of 96 men are registered to compete in five divisions while 29 women will play in three divisions. (See tournament draws)

The AAACTA has two events remaining in its 2011 summer tournament series. A juniors singles tournament will be held July 28-29 and an adult doubles tournament on July 29-31.

Despite the dominance by Holcombe, players still enjoy playing in the yearly gathering.

Lopez says the tournament is fun and Fisher says he looks forward to seeing who turns out, saying “it’s kind of like a reunion.”

As the field tries to dethrone Holcombe, Fisher has a bit of advice for the those who might run into him in the tournament draw.

“I ran him so much last year I gave him blisters, you can try and run him enough to give him blisters again,” he quipped. “Maybe he’ll retire.”

Matt Durr covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at mattdurr@annarbor.com.