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Friday October 8, 2010

Six former tennis greats to make event a smash hit

By RACHAEL KAM
rachael@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Six former tennis greats will take to the courts this evening, but all attention will surely be on Russian beauty Anna Kournikova. The 29-year-old former tennis poster girl said she was looking forward to participating in the Showdown of Champions 2010, A Night of Aces, which is scheduled to start at 6pm at Stadium Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam.

“I am looking forward to playing here. I hear that there will be a huge crowd at the stadium,” Kournikova said in an interview with The Star at a hotel here. The other ex-tennis greats participating are Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Goran Ivanisevic, Pat Cash and Martina Hingis.

At a gala dinner in conjunction with the event, Lendl was awarded The BrandLaureate World Records Award by The Asia Pacific Brands Foundation. The Czech tennis legend and eight-time Grand Slam winner, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001, is renowned for his powerful topspin forehand and one-handed backhand.

The tournament will start with Ivanisevic taking on Cash, a former Wimbledon champion, in a best-of-three sets match followed by Wilander versus Lendl. The doubles will see Ivanisevic-Hingis taking on Cash-Kournikova followed by Wilander-Kournikova versus Lendl-Hingis. Both matches will be decided in one regular set.

The Showdown of Champions 2010, organised by LD Sports Sdn Bhd for the third year, is supported by the Tourism Ministry with The Star as the official media partner and Red.fm as the official radio station. British R&B artist Jay Sean will be performing after the tournament. This is the fourth edition of the event, which was first introduced to Malaysian tennis fans in 2007.