Caesars Tennis Classic | Tennis Panorama

Second â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ for 2011 announced by Harrahâ€™s Entertainment, Caesars Atlantic City and Star Games

INAUGURAL â€œCAESARS TENNIS CLASSICâ€ SETS NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD IN ATLANTIC CITY

Harrahâ€™s Entertainment, Caesars Atlantic City and Star Games Announce Second â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€
In 2011

ATLANTIC CITY â€“ The inaugural â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ held at historic Boardwalk Hall on April 10, 2010 set a new attendance record for a tennis event in Atlantic City.

The record crowd of 7,330 who witnessed the â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ surpassed the previous mark of 7,257 for the â€œReturn of The Championsâ€ event which featured Monica Seles versus Martina Navratilova in July of 1995.

In addition to setting a new attendance record, Harrahâ€™s Entertainment, Caesars Atlantic City and Star Games also formally announced that the â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ will return for a second event in the Spring of 2011.

â€œCaesars is thrilled by the overwhelming success of our inaugural â€œCaesars Tennis Classic,â€ said Joe Domenico, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Caesars Atlantic City.Â â€œSetting a new attendance record, supporting youth tennis and showcasing some of the sports greatest athletes is an achievement we are proud to have accomplished in year one and we look forward to an even better event in 2011.

â€œTennis is back in Atlantic City!â€ said Jerry Solomon, President of StarGames, the sports marketing company responsible for producing the â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ and the BNP Paribas Showdown Cup at New Yorkâ€™s Madison Square Garden. The â€œCaesars Tennis Classicâ€ has set a new standard for professional tennis in the Mid-Atlantic region and we look forward to producing top-notch tennis events for years to come.â€

Harrahâ€™s Entertainment/Caesars has been supporting world class tennis events since 1972.Â One of the best stops on the Menâ€™s Professional Tennis tour, the â€œAlan King Classic,â€ which was played at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, hosted the like of Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Arthur Ashe.Â Through the 80â€™s and 90â€™s, Harrahâ€™s continued to support world class tennis, bringing unique events to the Mid-Atlantic region most specifically the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.Â The historic venue has hosted champions such as Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Navratilova, Vitas Gerulaitis, Bobby Riggs, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Pam Shriver.

About Harrahâ€™s Entertainment
Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada 70 years ago, Harrah’s has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casino resorts on four continents The company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos and the World Series of Poker. On January 28, 2008, Harrahâ€™s Entertainment was acquired by affiliates of private-equity firms TPG Capital and Apollo Global Management.

About Caesars Atlantic City
Caesars Atlantic City sets the standard for excitement and luxury. Reigning at the center of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, Caesars features more than 1,100 hotel guest rooms and suites, eight diverse restaurants and cafes including Mia by George Perrier and Chris Scarduzio and Mortonâ€™s Steakhouse, Qua Baths & Spa, and a lavish 140,000 square foot casino. The 1,600 seat Circus Maximus Theater spotlights leading entertainers such as Jerry Seinfeld, Sheryl Crow and Tony Bennett. The Pier Shops at Caesars deliver the pinnacle of designer boutiques, chic eateries and abundant entertainment in a $175 million oceanfront complex. Caesars is located at 2100 Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For more information, call 1-800-223-7277 or visit www.caesarsac.com

About StarGames
StarGames, LLC (www.stargamesinc.com) is a fully integrated sports marketing, management and entertainment company based outside of Boston, MA. Now in its 16th year, StarGames represents current and former professional athletes, produces original content for mass media distribution, operates its own broadband television channels and produces live and made for television events. In recent years, StarGames orchestrated the return of tennis to Madison Square Garden with the 2008 NetJets Showdown and 2009 BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup and launched Ivan Lendlâ€™s Champions Academy in Sarasota, Florida.

Caesars
Tennis Classic Brings Tennis Back to Atlantic City

Andy
Roddick and Marat Safin News Conference From the Caesars Tennis Classic
in Atlantic City

Pete
Sampras News Conference from the Caesars Tennis Classic

Venus
Williams, Wilander and Lendl at Caesars Tennis Classic News Conference

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: Caesars Tennis Classic, Press Releases

Caesars Tennis Classic Brings Tennis Back to Atlantic City

April 10, 2010 – Atlantic City, New Jersey – Tennis returned to Boardwalk Hall after an almost 15-year haitus with the inaugural Caesars Tennis Classic on Saturday night. The event produced Harrahâ€™s Entertainment, Caesars Atlantic City and StarGames Inc featured tennis hall of famers Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, recent retiree Marat Safin and the current No. 1 US player Andy Roddick. Serving as hostess for the event was seven-time major winner and holder of three Olympic gold medals-Venus Williams.

“It’s neat to see the need for tennis outside of the tournaments, especially since there aren’t as many tournaments in the U.S. now,” stated Williams.

All the matches had no-ad scoring.

First match on the program showcased the return of Ivan Lendl who had not played a match since 1994. Lendl had his hands full with old rival Mats Wilander as their match featured long baseline-to-baseline rallies. Match to the “slicing and dicing” Wilander 6-3. Both men were treated to a standing ovation at the end of the match.

L-R Venus Williams, Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander.

After the match Wilander commented “I’m a hard opponent for him (Lendl) to play the first time out.” Lendl said that he “had fun” and is evaluating if and when he’ll play another exhibition.

You can listen to the post-match news conference here.

Venus Williams

Put almost on a par with Billie Jean King, Venus Williams was honored on court for her efforts in women’s tennis with the first Caesars Tennis Classic Achievement award.

Pete Sampras

Match three of the evening saw a battle of powerful serves as Andy Roddick toppled Pete Sampras 6-4. During the course of the match, Roddick provided some fun banter with the crowd and tried to get fans to engage in a drinking game each time he heard the term “old school” from the crowd.

It was not an easy night for Sampras who played back-to-back matches and suffered back-to-back losses. Marat Safin notched a 6-4 win over the 14 time major winner.

In his post match news conference, Sampras talked about the current state of the game and called his era a “special time” due to the many slams won by himself Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. Listen to his news conference here.

Andy Roddick and Marat Safin

The marquee match of the evening pitted Andy Roddick against the recently retired Marat Safin. Roddick broke Safin’s serve early and cruised to a 6-4 win sending the fans home happy and entertained by the evening’s display of tennis champions.

It was Andy Roddick’s first trip to Atlantic City and he told the media after the match that the “tables were treating him well.” Chuckle of the evening came when Roddick, prolific twittererÂ was asked to give Marat Safin any advice on the social media application. Seems that Safin had never heard of twitter to which Roddick wondered if Safin evenÂ owner a computer.

Listen to the Roddick-Safin news conference here.

Saturday night’s attendance of 7,330 broke the recordÂ for a tennis event in Atlantic City. The previous mark of 7,257 was set at the July 1995 Monica Seles vs Martina Navratilova exhibition. Plans are already set in motion to bring back the Caesars Tennis Classic for 2011 and Pete Sampras says he will be back and with all the excitement in Boardwalk Hall, the fans will surely be back.