Agassi, Graf to play first matches under new roof - 網球

Agassi and Graf to Play First Wimbledon Matches Under New Roof
By Danielle Rossingh
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKMWWHa9dL5I

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi will return to the
Centre Court at Wimbledon, where they won eight singles titles between
them, in an event to test its new roof, the All England Club said.

Graf and Agassi will be joined by former U.S. Open champion Kim
Clijsters and ex-British No. 1 Tim Henman, the club said in an e-mailed
statement today.

The event on Sunday, May 17, is “designed to test the new roof and air
management system with live tennis in front of a capacity crowd of
15,000,” the All England Club said.

Tickets for the one-day competition, which includes a men’s singles, a
women’s singles and a mixed doubles match, will cost 35 pounds
($50.90) and go on sale March 12. Unlike at the Wimbledon
Championships, there won’t be any on-day sales at the turnstiles, the
club said.

“There is no tennis venue more special to me than Centre Court at
Wimbledon,” Graf, a former top-ranked player and the winner of 22
Grand Slam titles, said in the statement. “I couldn’t be more honored to
play there again with my husband Andre, and tennis greats Kim and Tim.
It will mean so much to return to Wimbledon and see so many familiar
places, relive so many wonderful memories.”

Ian Ritchie, chief executive officer of the All England Club, said his
organization had set out to make Wimbledon the world’s “premier”
tennis event.

“The new retractable Centre Court roof, and air management system, is
another important part of the championships’ progression and will
guarantee the play that today’s audiences expect,” he said.

The world’s only grass-court Grand Slam will be held June 22 through
July 5. The tournament, which in the past has frequently been halted
because of rain, was won by Rafael Nadal last year. He beat five-time
winner Roger Federer in a final that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes, had two
rain delays and ended in near- darkness.

It took three years to build the retractable roof over Centre Court.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh in London at
drossi[email protected]
Last Updated: February 24, 2009 07:17 EST

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