KUALA LUMPUR (SEPT 23, 2010) - Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis can’t wait to strut her stuff in Kuala Lumpur when she takes part in the Showdown of Champions 2010, Night of Aces, at the Malawati Stadium on Oct 8.
The Swiss star is particularly pleased to be able to team up with her good buddy Anna Kournikova. The glamorous duo had a successful doubles partnership in their heyday.
Describing the format of Showdown of Champions 2010 as a truly unique affair, Hingis said:
“I truly enjoy participating in some great special events like the Showdown of Champions and am very much looking forward to playing in Malaysia.
“The event has such a different format, features men and women playing together and I believe that the mixed doubles will prove to be very entertaining.
“It will also be great to meet up with Anna. We share two Grand Slam doubles titles and 11 Tour doubles titles together. It will be great to meet up with her in Kuala Lumpur.”
Besides Hingis and Kournikova, the men’s line-up for the Showdown of Champions 2010 features Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic.
Hingis is particularly impressed with the format of the Showdown of Champions 2010.
“I congratulate Malaysia on developing such a unique format that highlights ladies and men’s tennis, showcases singles and doubles, features the winners of so many Grand Slam titles, puts mixed doubles right at the forefront and is all presented in one single night. I think it will be an amazing atmosphere and I am looking forward to playing some good tennis.”
“It is always great when the men and the ladies play together. This is one of the factors that make the Grand Slams so special.
It will be very exciting for the spectators and I am really
It will be very exciting for the spectators and I am really
looking forward to meeting up with Anna and the four guys. They are some of the great players of their generation and it will be fantastic to share the court with them.”
Hingis, who turns 30 at the end of the month, was the dominant women’s tennis player from 1996-2002, winning 15 Grand Slam titles – five singles, nine doubles and one mixed doubles. Ligament injuries to both her ankles forced her to retire when she was just 22-years-old.
She attempted a comeback in 2006 but she halted that bid less than a year later and now only plays sporadically.
“I have no formal plans to make a second comeback to the WTA Tour. But I must confess that sometimes you wonder – what if …
“If I attempted to make a comeback to full-time tennis, how much could I achieve and how far could I go? Tennis was all of my life for a very long time. But the amount of travel necessary to play full time on the Tour makes me think – is this something I would like to do again? It is a huge commitment,” said Hingis, who was world No. 1 for 209 weeks.
The Showdown of Champions 2010 is scheduled to start at 6.00pm on Oct 8, with Ivanisevic taking on Cash in a best of three tie, followed by Becker versus Lendl. The doubles will see Ivanisevic and Hingis playing Cash and Kournikova (one regular set), followed by Becker/Kournikova versus Lendl/Hingis (one regular set).
Complementing action on the court at the Malawati Stadium will be the special appearance by British rapper Jay Sean in a concert to complete a one-night spectacle combining sports and sheer entertainment.
2 comments:
hi, i was there the night she played along Anna & the rest. Feel free to view some photos on my blog, got one nice portrait of Martina that I like :)
Great photos!. Thanks for letting me know.
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