WORLD NO. 5 SIMONA HALEP TO DEFEND NEW HAVEN OPEN TITLE; JAMES BLAKE, ANDY RODDICK & JIM COURIER TO PARTICIPATE IN FIRST-EVER NEW HAVEN OPEN LEGENDS EVENT & The 13th Annual FREE Lesson !

Written by: Staff on 16th May 2014

WORLD NO. 5 SIMONA HALEP TO DEFEND NEW HAVEN OPEN TITLE; JAMES BLAKE, ANDY RODDICK & JIM COURIER TO PARTICIPATE IN FIRST-EVER NEW HAVEN OPEN LEGENDS EVENT & The 13th Annual FREE Lesson !

epa03378052 Andy Roddick of the United States of America returns a ball against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their match on the fifth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2012. The US Open runs through 09 September 2012. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH |

Defending Champion and World No. 5 Simona Halep has committed to play the New Haven Open at Yale, a WTA event that is part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series to be held August 15-23, 2014 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale. In addition, James Blake, Andy Roddick and Jim Courier, three of the best American tennis players in history, will participate in the first-ever New Haven Open Legends event on Wednesday, August 20 and Thursday, August 21, it was announced today by Tournament Director Anne Worcester.

Halep had an incredible season in 2013, winning six titles and capturing the WTA’s Most Improved Player Of The Year award. En route to the 2013 New Haven Open win she dropped only one set, and defeated four-time New Haven Open Champion and eighth-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and 2012 New Haven Open Champion and ninth-ranked Petra Kvitova in the finals. The 22-year-old Romanian has also enjoyed plenty of success in 2014, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world – the highest ever for a Romanian female player, capturing the title in Doha, and reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells.

“I’m excited to come back to the New Haven Open and look forward to defending my title,” said Halep. “I have such fond memories of the tournament, and my win there helped build my confidence. I know it will be tough to repeat as champion, but I will do my best, and hope to have great fan support just like last year!”

Beyond a top-notch women’s field, fans will get to enjoy men’s tennis once again in New Haven as Fairfield native Blake, a two-time New Haven Open Champion and former top-five ranked player, will take on two former World No. 1’s in Courier and Roddick. On Wednesday, August 20, Blake will matchup against Courier, a four-time Grand Slam winner, owner of 23 ATP World Tour singles titles and a member of two winning United States Davis Cup teams, where he currently serves as its Captain. On Thursday, August 21, he will face-off against Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, a five-time Grand Slam finalist, and one of the most electrifying players in the game’s history. Both matches will be played after the 7:00pm WTA feature match on their respective nights, and they will be best of three sets, with a super tie-break played for the third set.

“I’m really excited to play again in front of my hometown fans from Connecticut, and be part of the first New Haven Open Legends event,” said Blake. “I have such incredible memories from both of my wins at the tournament, so to come back and compete against Jim and Andy will be fun. It’s great to see men’s tennis make a return to New Haven where it has a rich history.”

Blake was on hand in New Haven to announce the new Legends event, and also led more than 350 New Haven youth in the 13th annual New Haven Open Free Lesson, which introduced kids to the game of tennis, emphasized the importance of fitness in their lives, and encouraged them to sign up for affordable summer tennis lessons through the New Haven Parks & Recreation Department.

“This is a great day for the New Haven Open and fans throughout Connecticut with the commitment from our defending champion and one of the game’s fastest rising stars in Simona Halep, plus announcing the first-ever Legends event featuring James Blake, Jim Courier and Andy Roddick,” said Worcester. “There was no better way to make this announcement today than to have James here to lead our 13th annual Free Lesson and introduce local youth to the sport. We have always tried to leverage the power of professional tennis to build interest and participation in community tennis, and today is proof that this strategy works!”

Ticket packages are now on sale, including the After Hours, Pick Four Flex, and Final 4 options, and provide fans up to a 27 percent discount. For those who are busy during weekday hours, the After Hours package includes a ticket for every evening session, including the finals on Saturday, August 23. For those who like a variety of day and night matches, the Pick Four Flex allows fans to choose any four sessions to attend from Sunday, August 17-Thursday, August 21 (sessions 1-9). The men will play during sessions 7 (Blake vs. Courier) and 9 (Blake vs. Roddick). The Final 4 package provides fans with all the Thursday evening action, plus the women’s semifinals on Friday and the finals on Saturday. By purchasing any of these three packages, fans are guaranteed a ticket to see incredible WTA action and the Legends matches. Daily tickets will be on sale June 9, and only a limited number of daily tickets are available to see the men in action.

Log on to www.newhavenopen.com or call 1-855-464-8366 for more information. Also, make sure to join the New Haven Open on Facebook & Twitter for tournament updates, contests and more.

About New Haven Open at Yale

New Haven Open at Yale is now owned by the State of Connecticut and is newly minted as a not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization. The event has always existed to give back to the community, and has always been much more than just a tennis tournament; it is a leading example of leveraging a large-scale international sporting event to generate $26 million in regional economic impact and to build community pride, spirit and engagement, especially among youth. The women’s-only WTA event is part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series and will be held August 15-23, 2014 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale. The New Haven Open is prominently featured domestically on ESPN2 and also broadcast around the world. For more information about the tournament and tickets, visit www.newhavenopen.com or call 1-855-464-8366.

About Emirates Airline US Open Series

Now in its 11th season, the Emirates Airline US Open Series continues to serve as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking eight summer tournaments to the US Open. Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams won the 2013 US Open and Emirates Airline US Open Series men’s and women’s titles, each earning a record tennis paycheck of $3.6 million. In 2007, Roger Federer collected $2.4 million for winning the US Open and the Emirates Airline US Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters also captured both the US Open and the Series, winning $2.2 million and equaled that amount in 2010, winning the US Open and finishing the Emirates Airline US Open Series in second place.

Topics: Andy Roddick, Atp, Caroline Wozniacki, Emirates Airline US Open, James Blake, Jim Courier, new haven open, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

May 16, 2014 at 8:54 am

WORLD NO. 5 SIMONA HALEP TO DEFEND NEW HAVEN OPEN TITLE; JAMES BLAKE, ANDY RODDICK & JIM… – http://t.co/jnu5FwhjpE @andy__roddick #tennis
deddy_reza says:

May 16, 2014 at 9:47 am

RT @TennisNewsOne: WORLD NO. 5 SIMONA HALEP TO DEFEND NEW HAVEN OPEN TITLE; JAMES BLAKE, ANDY RODDICK & JIM COURIER TO PA… http://t.co/RB…