Singles Qualifying Matches to Kick Off Action at 10 a.m. this Saturday at La Costa Resort and Spa
Carlsbad, Calif. (July 28, 2010) – Women’s professional tennis officially returns to the San Diego area as the Mercury Insurance Open Presented By Tri-City Medical Center gets underway with the start of singles qualifying at 10 a.m. Saturday at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
While the focus will be on the players as they compete for the Mercury Insurance Open singles and doubles championships, fans coming to the tournament will also find a full schedule of special events planned throughout the week.
“This year’s tournament is going to be a very fan-friendly event with lots of excitement on and off the court,” said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open tournament director. “Fans are going to be surprised with all of the special events and activities that we have planned.”
Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1 – Qualifying Weekend
The qualifying rounds which begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday are one of the best bargains of the Mercury Insurance Open. Tickets are $10 and $20, plus parking is free on those two days. With the strong tournament field this year, highly-ranked players such as Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova and Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada will be among the players attempting to secure a spot in the main draw. Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm, who won the tournament here in 1996 and came out of retirement in 2008, will also be playing in the qualifying. Three players to watch for in qualifying are the winners of the Mercury Insurance Open Opportunity Tournaments. Nazari Urbina of Tijuana, Mexico, Tori Kinard of Pasadena, Calif. and Stacey Tan of Lakewood, Calif. received wild cards into qualifying after winning an Opportunity event earlier this summer.
Monday, August 2 – Kid’s Day
Kid’s Day begins at 8:30 a.m. Admission is FREE for all kids under age 16 accompanied by an adult! Tickets must be purchased on Monday at the box office window with both adults and children present. In addition to watching the first-round main draw matches which begin at 11 a.m., kids can participate in a variety of activities throughout the day, including a tennis clinic sponsored by Yonex. To reserve tickets, please call the box office at (760) 930-7032.
Monday night has been designated as “Military Appreciation Night” at the Mercury Insurance Open. Members of the Wounded Warriors and military personnel from Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton will be in attendance. After the first match of the night session which begins at 7 p.m., there will be a special on-court presentation with Colonel Nicholas F. Marano, USMC, Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Tuesday, August 3 – Laver and Segura to be honored
Following the first match of the night session, scheduled at 7 p.m., tennis legends Pancho Segura and Rod “The Rocket” Laver will be honored in a special on-court ceremony. Laver, considered to be one of the greatest players of all-time, is the only player to capture the coveted Grand Slam twice. Segura, born and raised in Ecuador, was a three-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Miami. Segura, noted for his unsurpassed analysis of top level matches, is the former Director of Tennis at the La Costa Resort and Spa.
Wednesday, August 4 – Barry Lorge Award of Excellence presented to Robbin Adair
In between matches during the 7 p.m. night session, the Barry Lorge Award of Excellence will be presented to an outstanding member of the local tennis community. The award is given in memory of Lorge, who covered tennis for the Washington Post and later as Sports Editor of The San Diego Union from 1981 to 1992. Lorge, who passed away in 2008, was known for his unique literary style which helped him become one of the leading tennis writers in the world. The recipient of the inaugural Barry Lorge Award of Excellence is Robbin Adair, who completed a 40-year coaching career at Coronado High School in 2007. Adair coached the boy’s tennis team for 40 seasons as well as the girl’s tennis team for 33 seasons. In that span, he earned over 1,000 coaching victories. In 2007, Adair was inducted into the CIF Coaches Hall of Fame.
Thursday, August 5 – A Triumph Over Breast Cancer Benefit Auction
A Triumph Over Breast Cancer Benefit Auction will take place from 5-7 p.m. All proceeds will fund state-of-the-art biopsy equipment at Tri-City Medical Center’s Edgar and Jo Anne Jones Women’s Diagnostic Center. The benefit includes a cocktail reception, live and silent auctions, Grand Marnier tasting bar, and reserved seats for the night session matches. Tennis legend Pam Shriver will be the host and auctioneer. Tickets are $125 each. Call (760) 930-3072 to purchase your tickets or for more information.
Friday, August 6 – Mollydooker Wines, a unique wine experience & Volunteer of the Year Award
The Mercury Insurance Open offers fans a unique wine experience with Mollydooker Wines at 5:30 p.m. in the tournament hospitality tent. Attendees will have the opportunity to blend their own wines and then taste the fabulous 2009 new release high end wines, including Carnival of Love and Velvet Glove. Seating is limited. Tickets for the event, which includes dinner and wine experience, are $95. To make reservations, call (760) 930-7032.
It certainly would not be possible to have an event like the Mercury Insurance Open without the dedicated service of the more than 600 volunteers who help with various duties. After the first night match which begins at 7:30 p.m., tournament officials will present “The Volunteer of the Year Award” during an on-court presentation.
Saturday, August 7 – Mercury Insurance Day & Tri-City Medical Center Night
The first singles semifinal begins at 12:30 p.m. on Mercury Insurance Day. The first 1,000 fans entering the gates will receive a hat, courtesy of Mercury Insurance. The first 500 fans entering the gates will receive a tote bag, courtesy of Tri-City Medical Center.
Sunday, August 8 – Time Warner Cable Day
The Mercury Insurance Open singles championship starts at 1:30 p.m. The day is designated as Time Warner Cable Day. All fans will receive free sunscreen courtesy of Time Warner Cable.
The Mercury Insurance Open, a Premier 700 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event offering $700,000 in prize money, marks the return of women’s professional tennis to Carlsbad after a two-year hiatus. The event will be televised on Tennis Channel and ESPN 2, and will comprise one of the 10 events of the Olympus US Open Series. For additional information about the Mercury Insurance Open, log onto http://www.mercuryinsuranceopen.com, join us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SDTennis), or follow frequent updates on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MercuryInsOpen).
Reserved Grandstand and Box Seat tickets, which range from $10-$125, are now available online at mercuryinsuranceopen.com or through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com. Tournament Ticket Packages are also on sale and begin at $70. For additional ticket information or to purchase tickets by phone, call (760) 930-7032.
Mercury Insurance Group, title sponsor of the Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, is offering tennis fans the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a trip to the 2010 US Open. Contestants can register to win a package that includes airfare, hotel and VIP tickets to the Open by visiting www.mercuryinsurance.com/tennis. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. You must be a legal California resident 18 years of age or older with a valid driver’s license to participate in the sweepstakes.
About Mercury Insurance: Founded in 1962, Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization offering predominantly personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents and brokers in California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For more information about Mercury Insurance, visit www.mercuryinsurance.com.
About Tri-City Medical Center: Founded in 1957 to serve the healthcare needs of coastal North San Diego County, Tri-City Medical Center is a full-service, acute care hospital with (500) physicians practicing in 60 specialties. The Medical Center is administered by the Tri-City Healthcare District, which includes most of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista. For more information about Tri-City Medical Center, please visit www.tricitymed.org.
About the Olympus US Open Series: Now in its seventh season, the Olympus US Open Series has established itself as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. Fans can follow the action throughout the summer through national television coverage, culminating each week with back-to-back men’s and women’s finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Olympus US Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express, Evian, Grand Marnier and SPDR Gold Shares.
Sam Querrey won the 2009 Olympus US Open Series men’s title and Elena Dementieva won the women’s title. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history -- $2.4 million -- for winning US Open and the Olympus US Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters also captured both the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series, winning $2.2 million -- the largest purse in women’s sports history.
About Octagon Tennis: Octagon has a rich and proud history in the sport of tennis, having managed the careers of 63 Grand Slam Champions and 11 Olympic gold medalists over three decades. In addition, Octagon owns or manages more professional tennis events than any other agency with WTA and ATP events including the Kremlin Cup, Brasil Open, the Movistar Open and the Western & Southern Financial Group Championships, which is also part of the Olympus US Open Series, among others. For more information, please visit www.octagontennis.com.