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The Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association announced today details of the Tournament Draw and the Ticket Sales for the Watsons Water Champions Challenge. They also announced the inclusion of a Tennis Ambassador who will play a dual role at the Hong Kong tournament. And to enhance the tennis enjoyment of the fans, Watsons Water announced a mouth-watering competition, entitled the Queen of Aces.
The January event has attracted a star studded line up, including glamour girl Maria Sharapova, arguably the world's most popular female athlete. Sharapova is the World No. 2 player and is the reigning US Open Champion, beating Justine Henin Hardenne in a classic Grand Slam final. Maria first grabbed the attention of tennis lovers, when she won the Wimbledon crown in 2004, and she will arrive in Hong Kong to a frenzy of media excitement.
Five other Grand Slam Champions complete the field of 8 players, including 2005 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters and former Wimbledon Champion, Lindsay Davenport.
The format for the popular event is the same as in 2006. Eight players play in a Quarter Final knockout, the winners go into the Gold Group and losers into the Silver Group. They play in two semi finals, for a place in the Gold and Silver Finals. The event also features all eight players in a world-class doubles competition.
President of the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association (HKTPA), Mr. Ian Wade commented "The pick of the Draw is probably Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Lindsay Davenport. Two big hitters and both Grand Slam Champions in a contest of power play! But Elena Dementieva vs Nicole Vaidsova is a top match, featuring the world No 8. vs World No. 10. And Clijsters vs. Zheng Jie, and Sharapova vs. Yan Zi will also surely draw the fans. We are all excited as well, to be able to see Zheng Jie and Yan Zi playing doubles. They are Wimbledon Champions and the No. 1 seeds here in Hong Kong.
Mr. Wade also made an announcement of another player. Junior Wimbledon Champion 2006, Caroline Wozniacki comes to Hong Kong as an Ambassador for Tennis, and as an exciting prospect for the future. As Ambassador she will act as an inspiration to young athletes. Caroline follows in the footsteps of Maria Sharapova and Nicole Vaidisova, stars of today, who the TPA was able to nurture in their early careers. The similarities don't end there, as Caroline's good looks put her in a similar mould to both these stars. Caroline's other role will be to act as a Support Player for the tournament, in the event of a Player getting injured.
Watsons Water also introduced the “Queen of Aces”, an exciting guessing game for sports fans. Fans enter the game and guess the player who serves the most aces in the event for a chance to win a real 8 tael (approx. 300g) gold Tennis Ball. The extra appeal and twist to this promotion is that the player who serves the most aces will also win the same Gold Ball! Mr. Steve Tong, General Manager of Watsons Water commented, "The person who wins this game will enjoy knowing that one of these stars has won the same ball. That's a pretty nice story to tell your friends!”
The Watsons Water Champions Challenge 2007 takes place at Victoria Park from January 3rd to 6th inclusive. Tickets go on sale on December 4th, at all URBTIX outlets and are priced from HK$ 280 to HK$ 680. Organizers said that prices remain the same as 2006, and Mr. Wade concluded by saying, "the tickets represent very good value, and I can see a great demand for them".
(information provided by the pr company)
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