CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.sonyericssonopen.com) – Defending Wimbledon Champion, Venus Williams and World No. 1 Roger Federer will make their 2008 Sony Ericsson Open debuts under the lights on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29, respectively.
Williams will begin play on Friday, March 28 at 7 p.m. with Federer playing his first match at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.
Tickets to the Sony Ericsson Open are on sale now and can be purchased by phone (305-442-3367) or via internet at www.sonyericssonopen.com. An amazing 12 days of tennis conclude with the women’s final on Saturday, April 5 and the men’s final on Sunday, April 6.
Williams, who is playing in her 10th Sony Ericsson Open, is looking to recapture the title she won in 1998, 1999 and 2001. After falling to Maria Sharapova in the third round at last year’s Sony Ericsson Open, Williams bounced back in impressive fashion going on to claim her fourth Wimbledon title.
Speaking of fashion, on Saturday, March 29 Williams will step off of the court and onto the catwalk when she hosts a fashion show beginning at 6 p.m. featuring some of the main pieces in her EleVen clothing line including a wide assortment of active lifestyle and performance looks, high performance and casual footwear and accessories. The show will take place on-site at the Sony Ericsson Open Fashion Park.
Following Saturday’s fashion show guests are encouraged to get to their Stadium Court seats early. Prior to the start of the Federer match, spectators will be awed and amazed by ‘FIRE’, a Triton Productions show featuring pyrotechnic performers, mystic fire dancers and percussion drummers.
Federer, arguably the greatest player of all-time, has been ranked No. 1 in the World since February 2, 2004, a record 215 consecutive weeks. His 12 Grand Slam singles titles ranks second all-time and is only two shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 14.
Williams’ and Federer’s potential opponents will be announced with the rest of the men’s and women’s tournament draws at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 24. With a first-round bye, they will have two extra days to prepare for their opening matches.
ABOUT THE SONY ERICSSON OPEN: The 2008 Sony Ericsson Open will be played March 26- April 6 at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami. The 12-day combined event, founded by Butch Buchholz in 1985, is owned by IMG. The Sony Ericsson Open is one of nine ATP Masters Series events on the ATP calendar, a top tier event on the Sony Ericsson WTA TOUR calendar, and features the top men's and women's tennis players in the world. In 2007, Novak Djokovic defeated Guillermo Canas for his first Sony Ericsson Open title, while Serena Williams defeated Justine Henin to win her fourth title in Miami. For ticket information, call (305) 442-3367 or visit the website at http://www.SonyEricssonOpen.com.
ABOUT SONY ERICSSON: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications was established as a 50:50 joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in October 2001, with global corporate functions located in London. The company serves the worldwide communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories and PC-cards, and it has R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China, India and America. Sony Ericsson is the title sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association, and works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80 cities during the year. For more information, please visit www.sonyericsson.com. |
