Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC preview (July 31-August 8, 2010)

July 23, 2010 todd elliot

Three-time Champion Andy Roddick and French Open Finalist Robin Soderling

Lead Field for 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, an ATP World Tour 500 Event

Olympus US Open Series Tournament, One of Top 20 Men’s Events Worldwide, July 31-August 8

Top International players include first-timer Marcos Baghdatis and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt

WASHINGTON, DC (28 June 2010) – Tournament officials today announced a top-flight player field featuring several first-time participants, with the release of the entry list for the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO, an ATP World Tour 500 event, featuring eight Top 25 players. The field is led by three-time Legg Mason Tennis Classic Champion Andy Roddick (2001, 2005 and 2007), currently ranked #7 in the world, and two-time French Open finalist and world #6 Robin Soderling. It also includes top-20 American John Isner, 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic finalist, who not only made tennis history but sports history this week, playing for his first match win at Wimbledon – officially the longest match in tennis history at more than 11 hours over three days, ending at 70-68 in the fifth set. This was Isner’s second run at tennis history as he set an ATP record of five third-set tiebreak matches en route to the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic final (l to Roddick).

The annual Mid-Atlantic summer classic at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center (16th and Kennedy Streets, N.W.) in Rock Creek Park takes place July 31 through August 8, and marks the 17^th straight year that Baltimore-based Legg Mason has been the title sponsor, the longest running tennis sponsorship in North America.

The field includes an electrifying mix of top international and US players, as well as several of the game’s rising stars. Ten players have won at least one singles title thus far in 2010. The list includes: 2004 Legg Mason Tennis classic champion and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS), who defeated Roger Federer in the Halle final earlier this month; Marcos Baghdatis (CYP), winner at Sydney, making his Legg Mason Tennis Classic debut; Australian Open semifinalist Marin Cilic (CRO), who captured 2010 titles at Chennai and Zagreb; Ernests Gulbis (LAT), winner at Delray Beach; Michael Llodra (FRA), champion at Marseilles and Eastbourne; Isner (USA), Auckland; Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), Casablanca; and current world #21 Sam Querrey (USA), the only player other than Rafael Nadal with three or more ATP World Tour titles in 2010. Roddick has two and Soderling one.

Other notable names in singles include current world #13 and French Open Semifinalist Tomas Berdych (CZE), former world #6,Gilles Simon (FRA) and Americans Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri.

“The elevation of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic to an ATP World Tour 500 event in 2009 remains a key factor in the strength of this year’s player field,” said Jeff Newman, Tournament Director and Senior Vice President of Lagardere Unlimited. “By nearly tripling the prize money the tournament has made a major investment for the sport of tennis in the Washington, DC region in order to secure top player fields, which should continue to provide tremendous value to our fans and sponsors.”

This Official Player Acceptance List from the ATP World Tour accounts for 38 of the 48 spots in main draw singles. Wildcards (4) and Qualifiers (6) – to be determined at a later date – will complete the field.

Ticket packages for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic are on sale now and can be purchased through the tournament hotline at 202-721-9500. Single session tickets, ranging in price from $10-$70 – based on location, session date and time – are also available through all TicketMaster outlets. For more information on the Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO, please visit the tournament Website at leggmasontennisclassic.com, follow the Legg Mason Tennis Classic on Facebook at facebook.com/leggmasontennisclassic, or call 202.721.9500.

An integral part of the sports and entertainment fabric of Washington, DC for 42, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a Lagardere Unlimited production, is owned by and benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, which seeks to improve the life prospects for DC area youth.

In addition to its status as an ATP World Tour 500 event, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic is also part of the Olympus US Open Series which links ten summer tournaments to the US Open, the largest annually attended sporting event in the world. The Olympus US Open Series brings together these ten tournaments in North America, three television networks, tennis’ sanctioning bodies and top corporate sponsors during the summer tennis season. Since its launch in 2004, The Olympus US Open Series has doubled television viewership of tennis, increased total event attendance and contributed to the growing popularity of the sport.

* * * * *

About The WTEF

The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) was founded in 1955 as an organization designed to help disadvantaged youth through tennis. Since then, it has evolved into an organization that provides academic help to at-risk children, by helping them to apply the lessons learned on the tennis court in the classroom and beyond. Today, WTEF is a leader in the best practice of providing academic enrichment, supplemented by tennis and life skills instruction, as a means for developing the skills necessary to achieve academic and personal success. WTEF seeks to improve the life prospects of DC area youth, particularly those from low-income communities, through tennis, educational, and community-building activities that teach discipline, build confidence, and improve academic performance. www.wtef.org

About Legg Mason

Legg Mason is a global asset management firm, with $685 billion in assets under management at March 31, 2010. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM). www.leggmason.com

About Lagardère Unlimited

Lagardère Unlimited (formerly known as Lagardère Sports) is a specialist in the sports economy comprised of six universes: representation of prominent artists and athletes, management of sports academies, events planning and logistics, management of medias, and marketing and consulting Lagardère Unlimited has quickly become a major player worldwide through the integration of a portfolio of world-class companies, including the recently acquired BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television), Sportfive, IEC in Sports, Upsolut, PrEvent and World Sport Group. Current clients include Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes, Reggie Bush, 2009 AP Offensive Player of the Year Chris Johnson and 2009 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Percy Harvin; NBA All-Star Shawn Marion, 2010 NBA Draft pick John Wall, 2009 NBA Lottery pick Ricky Rubio and 2009 NBA Sixth-Man of the Year Jason Terry; legendary ATP doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, rising star Melanie Oudin, WTA #3 Caroline Wozniacki, seven-time Grand Slam Champion Justine Henin and 2003 US Open Champion and ATP #7 Andy Roddick; top MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko; basketball legend Magic Johnson; boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, Jr.; entertainment personalities John Saunders, Jenn Brown and Matt Vasgersian. Media & Event properties include the US Open Tennis Championship, the French Open Tennis Championship, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, numerous US-based ATP tournaments, Rock ’n Racquets, the Boston Marathon, the Superstars Competition, Ice Wars, The Showcase college basketball event, the Men’s and Women’s Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships and experiential grassroots properties Hoop It Up, Kick It, Let It Fly and Rock The Box. www.lagardere-unlimited.com

Player Acceptance List

NAME COUNTRY RANK*

Baghdatis, Marcos CYP 27

Becker, Benjamin GER 71

Benneteau, Julien FRA 40

Berdych, Tomas CZE 13

Berrer, Michael GER 46

Chiudinelli, Marco SUI 61

Cilic, Marin CRO 12

de Bakker, Thiemo NED 49

Falla, Alejandro COL 60

Fish, Mardy USA 73

Gabashvili, Teimuraz RUS 84

Ginepri, Robby USA 72

Giraldo, Santiago COL 54

Golubev, Andrey KAZ 81

Greul, Simon GER 62

Gulbis, Ernests LAT 29

Hewitt, Lleyton AUS 26

Isner, John USA 19

Istomin, Denis UZB 70

Kubot, Lukasz POL 53

Lacko, Lukas SVK 75

Llodra, Michael FRA 37

Lu, Yen-Hsun TPE 82

Malisse, Xavier BEL 63

Marchenko, Illya UKR 74

Mayer, Leonardo ARG 52

Querrey, Sam USA 21

Roddick, Andy USA 7

Schuettler, Rainer GER 85

Simon, Gilles FRA 32

Soderling, Robin SWE 6

Tipsarevic, Janko SRB 45

Troicki, Viktor SRB 42

Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 58

Vliegen, Kristof BEL 68

Wawrinka, Stanislas SUI 23

Zeballos, Horacio ARG 44

*ATP World Tour Rankings as of June 21, 2010

Direct Acceptances 38

Wild Cards 4

Qualifiers 6

Legg Mason Washington DC Tennis Tournament:

July 31 – August 8, 2010
William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park
Benefiting Washington Tennis & Education Foundation

Tournament Information

In July of 1969, the inaugural tournament became one of the first open professional tennis tournaments held in the United States. The Legg Mason Tennis Classic has since been part of some of the most innovative changes in tennis, including blue courts, instant replay/video boards in the stadium, Olympus US Open Series, Sunday Main Draw start and, starting in 2009, an ATP “500” level tournament.

ATP World Tour 500

As an ATP World Tour 500 tournament, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic is one of the top 20 men’s tournaments in the world. What this means for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic is….greater prestige. The “500s” will be backed by a top player commitment to play four “500” tournaments a year, offering 500 points for each champion towards ranking, more than $1.2 Million dollars in player compensation, and increased national & international exposure for sponsors.

Olympus US Open Series Event

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is part of the Olympus US Open Series which links 9 summer tournaments to the US Open creating a cohesive, six-week summer tennis season for ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour professional tournaments in North America. There are 9 tournaments (10 events) that make up the Olympus US Open Series.

The Olympus US Open Series runs for six weeks throughout the summer and culminates with the US Open.

Owner and Beneficiary

A portion of the proceeds from the Legg Mason Tennis Classic benefits the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF). The WTEF seeks to improve the life prospects for DC area youth, particularly those from lower-income communities, through tennis, educational and community-based activities that teach discipline, build self-esteem and improve academic performance. If you are interested in learning more about how you can support the WTEF, please call (202) 291-9888 or visit the WTEF website.