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Breakout Serbian Star Returns to San Diego
for 2nd Year in a Row
SAN DIEGO, CA, June 12, 2007 – Promotion Sports, Inc. today
announced that 19-year-old Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic,
who reached the finals of last week’s French Open, has entered
the 2007 Acura Classic, to be held July 28 - August 5 at
the La Costa Resort & Spa. Currently ranked #6 on the
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, this year will mark the second in a row
that Ivanovic will compete in the San Diego tournament. In her debut
last year she reached the Round of 16, before losing to Russian
Anna Chakvetadze.
A native of Belgrade, the 6-foot Ivanovic learned to play tennis
by practicing inside an emptied Olympic-sized swimming pool.
She won last month’s Berlin Open for her third tour victory.
But until her breakout performance last week at the French Open,
she had never made it past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event.
On her way to the final against top-seeded and
world #1 Justine Henin, she had impressive upset wins over Maria
Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Ivanovic made her professional debut in 2003, and in 2004 she was
a top-100 finisher on the tour, marking the biggest ranking jump
(608 spots) of any player that year. Ivanovic counts among her most
memorable experiences her victories over Amelie Mauresmo at the
2005 French Open and Martina Hingis in the final of the Canadian
Open last year. Her title win in Montreal clinched the #1 spot in
the 2006 U.S. Open Series.
Noted Ivanovic: “I really enjoyed the Acura Classic last
year. The San Diego tournament has one of the strongest player fields
on the tour. I train for tournaments like this. As a player, you
always want to compete against the top players, so I especially
enjoy tournaments with many high ranked players.”
Noted Promotion Sports’ Raquel Giscafré: “Since
we began running this tournament in 1984, we’ve witnessed
the emergence of many terrific young players who went on to incredible
#1 careers, including Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams and Maria
Sharapova. Ana is one of the hottest young players on the tour today,
and we’re looking forward to watching her as her star continues
to rise and take her all the way to the top.”
Among the many world-class players scheduled to compete at the
2007 Acura Classic field are four multiple Grand Slam champions,
including Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova,
Martina Hingis and Serena
Williams.
Now in its 24th year, the Acura Classic is one of the premier events
on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and one of the largest
women’s tennis tournaments in the world. Past winners include
Mary Pierce, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis,
Steffi Graf and Jennifer Capriati.
For more information and to purchase tickets for the Acura Classic,
fans can call the Tournament Box Office at 760-438-5683, or visit
www.acuraclassic.com.
Free parking for attendees will be available for opening weekend
on Saturday and Sunday, July 28th and 29th.
Promotion Sports, Inc., which owns the Acura Classic and promotes
a variety of professional tennis events, is a private corporation
headquartered in Carlsbad, California. Founded in 1982 by Raquel
Giscafré and Jane Stratton, former professional tennis players,
the company is dedicated to promoting sports and women’s tennis
worldwide.
The Acura Classic is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
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