St. Petersburg Open (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic participated in the Russian tradition of planting a tree as part of a green initiative on behalf of the tournament.
All the players attended the gala dinner, held at the Monferran Halla of the Four Seasons Hotel. Model Natalia Vodianova was in attendance as the players enjoyed electric violin duo Vibration, a haircut show by Dmitri Vinokurov and learned a Russian song, “Kalika”.
The players were treated to another swanky event, the player party, a Great Gatsby-themed black tie soiree held at the Olympia Palace. Entertainment included singer Johnny Kelvin and a live band.
Marcos Baghdatis took a canal boat through a series of St. Petersburg’s scenic waterways as he was interviewed for Tennis Channel’s “Tour Guide” show.
Mariusz Frystenberg, Santiago Gonzalez, Marcel Granollers and Mikhail Youzhnyhosted 30 youngsters in the Masterclass Kids’ Clinic, packed with drills and tennis tips.
Dominic Thiem, Ernests Gulbis and Roberto Bautista-Agut met with fans for autographs and photos.
Moselle Open (Metz, France)
Second seed Gilles Simon visited the nearby Zoo d’Amneville.
“It was a great experience. I enjoyed it,” Simon said about his visit with sea lions, eagles, gorillas, lions and more. “The thing I liked the most was meeting Watson [the sea lion]. I thought he was a great animal, very soft and gentle, but at the same time very strong and powerful. The most impressive were the eagles. Having one on your arms didn’t make me feel very secure.”
Steve Darcis, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Adrian Mannarino, Paolo Lorenzi and Edouard Roger-Vasselin participated in autograph sessions around the grounds.
( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/players-participate-in-activities-off-court-in-st-petersburg-and-metz-2015 )
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