News
November 27th, 2003 <download
pdf doc>
Organizers today announced the remaining male stars and female
stars to compete in the Watsons Water Champions Challenge.
Organizers also announced the start of ticket sales.
On the Men’s side the two top players to complete the
field are Martin Verkerk the 2003 French Open Runner-Up and
Max Mirnyi, the gentle giant from Belarus who is the No. 1
Doubles player in the world. On the Women’s side, the
two stars are World No. 6 and three time Grand Slam Singles
Champion Jennifer Capriati and World No. 8 player Elena Dementieva.
Commented Steve Tong, General Manager of Watsons Water “We
have three female superstars, with Venus Williams, Jennifer
Capriati and Elena Dementieva plus two male superstars, Roger
Federer World No. 2 and Juan Carlos Ferrero World No. 3, as
well as French Open Finalist, Martin Verkerk. With the other
two players in the field this is a formidable line up and
we are delighted with it”.
Mr. Tong said, “ Watsons Water always supports sports
events and the Watsons Water Champions Challenge marks the
fifth year of our company’s involvement. This year we
will stage a market wide consumer promotion, entitled “Who’s
the Grand champion?” to promote tennis amongst the community.
All Watsons Water consumers will be eligible to take part
and have the chance to win the attractive prizes.”
The full line up of players is:
Men
| Roger Federer (Switzerland) |
- |
World No. 2 and the 2003 Wimbledon Champion |
| Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) |
- |
World No. 3 and the 2003 French Open Champion |
| Martin Verkerk (Netherlands) |
- |
World No. 19 and the 2003 French Open Runner-Up |
| Max Mirnyi (Belarus) |
- |
World No. 23 and the No. 1 Doubles Player in the world |
Women
| Venus Williams (USA) |
- |
World No. 11 and 4 times Grand Slam Singles
Champion. Two Wimbledons and two US Opens |
| Jennifer Capriati (USA) |
- |
World No. 6, and 3 times Grand Slam Singles Champion.
Two Australian Opens and one French Open Crown |
| Elena Dementieva (Russia) |
- |
World No. 8 and holder of three WTA Tour Titles |
| Maria Sharapova (Russia) |
- |
World No. 32 and the new star of world tennis with two
WTA Tour Titles already under her belt. |
Organizers also announced the Draw and the Schedule of Play
for the tournament. Co-Tournament Director Terry Catton confirmed
the matches for Thursday and Friday Jan 8th & 9th, and
commented, “It’s a mouthwatering line up and fans
can look forward to seeing top stars compete in every single
match. Indeed, we will even be able to see a replay of this
year’s memorable French Open Final with Ferrero up against
Verkerk on Friday night”.
Organizers also announced that the finals of the tournament
will take place at 2.30pm on Saturday Jan 10th, and be preceded
by 3rd & 4th Place Men & Ladies Singles Play-off matches
on Saturday morning. Dr. David Ho, Chairman of the Tournament
Operations Committee said “We can expect a feast of
tennis over three highly competitive days, and Hong Kong is
looking forward to hosting the very best players in the world
in this “Relaunch Hong Kong” event. We gratefully
acknowledge the support of Watsons Water, the Leisure and
Cultural Services Department, our two Principal Sponsors Cathay
Pacific and Canon, as well as all our other sponsors &
patrons who have made this exciting and unique tournament
a reality”.
Dr. Ho also announced the start of ticket sales “Tickets
go on sale tomorrow at all URBTIX outlets and are priced from
HK$180 – HK$580. You can call the reservations line
on 2734 9009, credit card bookings on 2111 5999 or on-line
booking on http://www.urbtix.gov.hk.
For further details, you can access the official website http://www.watsonswaterchallenge.com.
We expect a big demand for tickets from the fans and the general
public.
For full details of the Tournament Draw, the Mixed Doubles
pairings, and the Schedule of Play click
here.
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