WTT SMASH HITS RAISES MORE THAN $1 MILLION USD FOR ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION WITH BILLIE JEAN KING & FRIENDS

Written by: Staff on 7th December 2014

WTT SMASH HITS RAISES MORE THAN $1 MILLION USD FOR ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION WITH BILLIE JEAN KING & FRIENDS |

Mylan WTT Smash Hits raises more than $1 million USD for Elton John AIDS Foundation

Tim Henman leads Team Billie Jean to 22-16 win over Team Elton at Mylan WTT Smash Hits in London

Event raises more than $1 million USD for only second time in history

The international debut of Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by Walgreen and AmerisourceBergen was a smashing success, raising more than $1 million dollars (USD) (more than £641,000) for the Elton John AIDS Foundation for only the second time in the event’s 22-year history.

Mylan WTT Smash Hits, co-hosted by Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King, has now raised more the $13 million USD (£8.3 million) to support HIV and AIDS prevention and awareness programs since the first event in 1993. The 2014 event was the first to be held outside of the U.S.

Team Billie Jean defeated Team Elton 22-16 in front of a capacity crowd at Royal Albert Hall in London to tie the overall series at 11-11. Great Britain’s Tim Henman was the star of the night for Team Billie Jean, winning 10 of the 13 games he played. Henman partnered Jamie Murray to a convincing 5-0 victory in men’s doubles against John McEnroe and Andy Roddick and later closed out victory for his team with a 5-3 win in men’s singles over Roddick. “Tim’s serve made the difference,” said King. “He was serving like Andy Roddick tonight.”

“#CaptionThis: #TimHenman waits… and waits for a #highfive from #BillieJeanKing before making his #MylanWTTSmashHits debut. #lefthanging #Henman” – worldteamtennis on Instagram

Team Elton started off the evening with a victory in women’s doubles as Martina Hingis and Heather Watson edged Sabine Lisicki and Kim Clijsters 5-4.

Team Billie Jean’s Henman and Jamie Murray were newcomers to the WTT format, but the two quickly caught on to upstage Mylan WTT veterans John McEnroe and Andy Roddick with an impressive 5-0 win in men’s doubles. Murray clinched the set with a let ace against McEnroe.

Lisicki extended the lead for Team Billie Jean, as she defeated Watson 5-3 in women’s singles. Trailing 14-8, Team Elton fought back in mixed doubles. Former Mylan WTT teammates Hingis and McEnroe beat Clijsters and Murray 5-3 to give their team the momentum. Henman denied any chance of a comeback with his 5-3 men’s singles win against Roddick.

Before King and John’s teams battled it out on court, they went head-to-head in a live auction contest, raising more than $247,000 USD (£159,000). The top-selling items were two US Open ticket packages for more than $73,000 USD (£49,000). A Wimbledon package featuring a visit with John McEnroe and Elton John’s autographed piano bench were also auction favorites.

Elton John addressed the capacity crowd when Mylan Chairman Robert J. Coury and CEO Heather Bresch handed the Elton John AIDS Foundation a check for £500,000. “This is a wonderful evening,” said John. “Without Mylan, we couldn’t possibly do this. They’ve make drugs for HIV positive people and we’re an HIV positive AIDS Foundation, so the two of us fit hand and glove very well and it’s a wonderful relationship. It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge the extent of the generosity Mylan has given us, which is immense.”

For more information on Mylan WTT Smash Hits, visit www.WTTSmashHits.com.

“Here it is folks… #AndyRoddick’s #MylanWTTSmashHits rock ‘n’ roll #selfie from #RoyalAlbertHall! #fun #pullingfaces #charityevent” – worldteamtennis on Instagram

Final Results:

Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by Walgreens and AmerisourceBergen

Royal Albert Hall in London

TEAM ELTON:

Martina Hingis, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Heather Watson. Coach: Sir Elton John

TEAM BILLIE JEAN

Kim Clijsters, Tim Henman, Sabine Lisicki, Jamie Murray. Coach: Billie Jean King

TEAM BILLIE JEAN def. TEAM ELTON 22-16

ORDER OF SETS

WOMEN’S DOUBLES: Martina Hingis/Heather Watson (Team Elton) def. Kim Clijsters/Sabine Lisicki (Team Billie Jean) 5-4

MEN’S DOUBLES: Tim Henman/Jamie Murray (Team Billie Jean) def. John McEnroe/Andy Roddick (Team Elton) 5-0

WOMEN’S SINGLES: Lisicki (Team Billie Jean) def. Heather Watson (Team Elton) 5-3

MIXED DOUBLES: McEnroe/Hingis (Team Elton) def. Murray/Clijsters (Team Billie Jean) 5-3

MEN’S SINGLES: Henman (Team Billie Jean) def. Roddick (Team Elton) 5-3

2014 Mylan WTT Smash Hits – Organizations & Charities

About Elton John AIDS Foundation UK (EJAF):

At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) we believe that AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993. The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than £190m ($300) million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. Over the past year alone, the UK Foundation has provided support for over 2.4m people to get an HIV test and a further 185,000 very vulnerable people living with HIV to access lifesaving care.

About Mylan:

Mylan is a global pharmaceutical company committed to setting new standards in health care. Working together around the world to provide 7 billion people access to high quality medicine, we innovate to satisfy unmet needs; make reliability and service excellence a habit; do what’s right, not what’s easy; and impact the future through passionate global leadership. We offer a growing portfolio of more than 1,300 generic pharmaceuticals and several brand medications. In addition, we offer a wide range of antiretroviral therapies, upon which approximately 40% of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries depend. We also operate one of the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and currently market products in approximately 140 countries and territories. Our workforce of more than 20,000 people is dedicated to improving the customer experience and increasing pharmaceutical access to consumers around the world. But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself. See inside. Mylan.com

Topics: Andy Roddick, Billie Jean King, Elton John, Mylan WTT, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

December 7, 2014 at 8:46 pm

-@WorldTeamTennis SMASH HITS RAISES MORE THAN $1 MILLION USD FOR #EltonJohn AIDS FOUNDATION WITH @BillieJeanKing… http://t.co/1vbOIL1mha