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Sujet: Washington 2011 - Infos générales Ven 3 Juin 2011 - 8:49
Blake To Return To Legg Mason Tennis Classic
by Press Release | 01.06.2011
James Blake, the 2002 champion and 2005 runner-up, will return to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO, according to Tournament Director Jeff Newman, who said that if Blake’s ranking (currently #102) is not high enough for a direct entry, he will receive a Wild Card berth into the ATP World Tour 500 and Olympus US Open Series event. The Legg Mason Tennis Classic takes place 30 July through 7 August at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center (16th & Kennedy Streets, NW).
Blake earned the first of his 10 ATP singles titles at the 2002 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, upsetting top-seeded Andre Agassi in the semi-finals and capturing the hearts and imagination of fans, both on court and off. The following year he was a quarter-finalist (falling to Agassi), but he reached the final again in 2005, where three-time champion Andy Roddick stopped him.
Several of the game’s marquee players as previously announced, including world No. 10 Mardy Fish, No. 11 Andy Roddick, No. 15 Viktor Troicki of Serbia, Sam Querrey and John Isner, 2010 runner-up Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus), former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Canada’s rising star Milos Raonic - have also committed to play in the 2011 Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO.
The former Harvard student was the top-ranked American in 2006, reaching a career-high of No. 4 in the world, but has been slowed by injury. However, one thing people have learned about James Blake is to never count him out. He is a man who has overcome tremendous adversity – including scoliosis in his teen years (requiring a brace), a fractured vertebrae in his neck suffered in Rome, falling ill with a condition that caused facial paralysis, affecting hearing and vision, and losing his father to cancer – fighting back every time, and willingly serving as a role model for young people. He has been featured in People Magazine’s “Sexist Man Alive” issue, done a fashion spread for GQ and authored a book, “Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life,” which went to #15 on The New York Times Best Seller list. His peers recognized him with the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award.
An integral part of the sports and entertainment fabric of Washington, DC for 42 years, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a Lagardere Unlimited production, is owned by and benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, which seeks to improve the life prospects for DC area youth. Furthermore, this marks the 18th straight year that Legg Mason, the Baltimore-based global asset management firm, has served as title sponsor. They have hosted the tournament since 1994, when hall of famer Stefan Edberg claimed the coveted title, won in 2010 by David Nalbandian. The firm is only the sixth title sponsor in tournament history and North America’s longest-term sponsor on the ATP World Tour.