Contact: Matt Van Tuinen MVT PR 773-525-5360 [email protected]
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Contact: Matt Van Tuinen MVT PR 773-525-5360 [email protected] AMERICAN AND 2009 PILOT PEN TENNIS FINALIST SAM QUERREY AND FORMER TOP TEN STAR MARCOS BAGHDATIS COMMIT TO PILOT PEN TENNIS Daily Tickets Now On Sale; Special $1 Ticket To Be Offered For First Evening Session NEW HAVEN, Conn., June 1, 2010 – American and 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis finalist Sam Querrey and former top ten ranked international star Marcos Baghdatis have committed to Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale, an Olympus US Open Series event on the ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, to be held August 20-28 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale, it was announced today by Anne Worcester, tournament director. In addition, daily tickets for the Pilot Pen are now on sale, and fans will want to take advantage of a special promotion: from June 1-4, middle tier tickets for the first evening session on Monday, August 23, which typically are $20, will be available for $1. Last year, more than 5,000 tickets were sold through this unique offering, so fans will want to take advantage before they are gone. The tournament will announce other exceptional ticket offers leading up to the Pilot Pen, which will feature World No. 3 and two-time defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, in addition to Querrey and Baghdatis. Querrey, currently 23 years-old and ranked No. 22 in the world, has had a strong start to the 2010 season winning the third and fourth singles titles of his career at Memphis and Belgrade, and capturing two doubles titles at San Jose (with Mardy Fish) and Memphis (with John Isner). In 2009 Querrey had the best season of his young career highlighted by a strong summer hardcourt season that included a victory in Los Angeles and finals appearances at Newport, Indianapolis and the Pilot Pen where he captured the 2009 Olympus US Open Series title. His 2009 campaign was cut short, quite literally, at a tournament in Bangkok when the glass table he was sitting on collapsed, cutting his right arm, which required stitches. The cut narrowly missed damaging nerves in his serving arm that could have ended his career. This will be his third trip to the Pilot Pen. Baghdatis, once one of the fastest rising stars in the game, has battled back from debilitating injuries and is once again fulfilling the potential that all fans had come to admire. In 2006 he reached the finals of the Australian Open, semifinals at Wimbledon, and rose to No. 8 in the world. After an injury marred 2008, the Cypriot won three challenger titles and captured the third ATP title of his career at Stockholm in 2009. He continued his impressive play this year by winning his fourth career title at Sydney, and then this spring he defeated arguably the greatest player of all-time, and current World No. 1, Roger Federer at Indian Wells. Afterwards Baghdatis called it the best win of his career. He is currently ranked No. 30 in the world, and this will be his fourth trip to the Pilot Pen. “Sam Querrey had a great run last year at the Pilot Pen, and he is well on his way to becoming a permanent face for American tennis,” said Worcester. “Adding Sam, along with Marcos, who has played brilliantly this year and has world-class talent, means that the fans will once again be treated to terrific tennis action and get great value for their tickets. The Pilot Pen is an affordable entertainment opportunity and the $1 ticket promotion is just one example of the great values we offer.” For tickets, how to become a volunteer, or more information about the tournament, please call the Pilot Pen Tennis Box Office, 888/99-PILOT, 203/776-7331, or log on to www.pilotpentennis.com . -more- Pilot Pen Tennis – Querrey & Baghdatis, p. 2 About Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale, an Olympus US Open Series event on the ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, will be held August 20-28, 2010 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale and feature a number of international tennis stars. The 2009 Pilot Pen, whose champions are Caroline Wozniacki and Fernando Verdasco, drew nearly 80,000 spectators and was televised nationally for 16 hours on ESPN2 and CBS Sports. An economic impact study conducted in 2008 showed that the event generated an estimated total gross economic impact on the New Haven regional economy of more than $26 million. About the Olympus US Open Series The Olympus US Open Series brings together the 10 summer tournaments in North America, three television networks, tennis’ sanctioning bodies and top corporate sponsors during the summer tennis season. In 2009 the Series continued its enhancements to the sport, including more national TV hours, live back-to-back Finals every weekend, bonus prize money at the US Open, and a significant national marketing campaign. ### .