Some of the best tennis players of
all time brought their word-class tennis skills to the streets of downtown
George Town in a free tennis exhibition event last week.
In Cayman for the 2010 Legends
Championships sponsored by Dragon Bay at The Courts at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand
Cayman, Jim Courier, former world No.1 and four-time Grand Slam singles title
winner; Stefan Edberg, former world no.1 in both singles and doubles and a
six-time Grand Slam singles title winner; Marat Safin, former world No.1 and a
2-time Grand Slam singles title winner; and Jimmy Arias, former world no.5 and
Grand Slam doubles title winner all took time out from the charity Legends
Pro-Am Tournament and 2010 Legends Championships to meet fans and hit some
balls with local tennis enthusiasts of all ages.
They played for the public on
Albert Panton Street in this new addition to the Legends Championships event
schedule – an open street tennis exhibition, which drew local tennis fans both
young and old.
A temporary ‘court’ was set up in
the street itself, which was blocked off to vehicle traffic, and MC Brett Haber
of CBS and the Tennis Channel welcomed the crowd and encouraged the youngsters
to get on the court with the pros. “The cost of a lesson with these stars would
cost the equivalent of the Gross National Product of small nations,” Haber
joked. “But here, it’s free! Because that’s what they believe in, getting kids
involved and changing their lives through sports.”
Fresh off his appointment as the
Captain of the United States’ Davis Cup team, Courier was especially keen to
work with Cayman’s young tennis players. He mused aloud about recruiting one particularly
tenacious youngster for the US team, and joked that the boy must have tennis
talent by virtue of being a redhead.
“It’s great to see this enthusiasm
and talent,” Courier said. “Some of these kids are really good players.”
The children flocked to the court
to interact with the pros, who gave out autographed shirts to all of those who
participated.
Bleacher seating was available, and
while the event was completely free to the public donations were accepted for
the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, the official charity of the 2010 Legends
Championships. Legends merchandise was on sale, and the pros happily signed autographs
for eager fans.
Mike Ryan, developer of Dragon Bay
and The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, was pleased to be hosting
the event: “We are thrilled to have such an incredible roster of talent joining
us for the 2010 Legends Championships. Once again, we have brought world-class
championship level tennis to the Cayman Islands, featuring truly legendary
athletes,” he said.
Stefan Edberg, in his first visit
to the Cayman Islands, took home the top prize in the 2010
Legends Championships, besting
Marat Safin in an exciting finals match that went to a tiebreaker.
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