10th Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Tourney set for this weekend.

Bahamian tennis star Mark Knowles is pleased to announce the annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational will be held on 1-4 December 2011 at the Atlantis Resort & Casino by Presenting Sponsor, MDC-Partners, and organized by the Mark Knowles Management Group (MKMG).

This year’s featured players are Andy Roddick, Xavier Malisse, and Sabine Lisicki with some additional stars to be announced at a later date. The organizers plan to hold a Pro/Am doubles tournament for Platinum sponsors, a Pro Exhibition and an opportunity for top Bahamian junior tennis players to interact with the visiting professionals.

The Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational was established in 2001, its mission to raise funds supporting a range of local children’s charities on the islands. Past beneficiaries have included The Sassoon Pediatric Heart Foundation, The Cancer Society, The Association of the Physically Disabled, The Children’s Emergency Hospital, The Boy Scouts of Bahamas, The Special Olympics and scholarships for promising junior tennis players. Through the generous support of sponsors, fellow tennis players and of course, the fans, proceeds have saved lives and provided important opportunities for a number of individuals. 2010 marked the tenth anniversary of the event and pushed total contributions to over $650,000. Proceeds enabled Knowles to endow a local hospital with its first children’s heart defibrillator – in the past, child cardiac arrest patients had to rely on the usage of an adult defibrillator. Previous projects have included emergency heart surgery for a baby girl, 12 days in age; the remodeling of cancer recovery rooms; and funding for a Special Olympics tennis player, who recently won a medal at the World Games.

 

 

 

Bahamas Celebrity Invitational kicks off this week.

Not content to let their male counterparts enjoy all the fun in the sun in The Bahamas, this year’s Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational charity event from December 2nd to 5th has drawn 3 repeat female participants; Anna Lena Groenefeld, Sabine Lisicki and Olga Savchuk and a new face, U.S. Federation Cup team heroine, Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

The Professional Tennis Exhibition will be held at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre at 3.00 p.m. on Saturday 4th December. Admission: Adults $10 and Children Free. Students in school sports shirts Free. (Don’t be surprised if Andy Murray shows up!)

The annual hit with the Pros will take place with junior players selected by Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association at the Exhibition on 4th December at the National Tennis Centre ending with an autograph session with the pros.

The proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s’ charities. To date over $500,000 has been distributed to various charities.

Tickets are now on sale at the National Tennis Centre, Atlantis Tennis Centre, Village Squash Club, H.G.Christie Ltd. and Lyford Cay School or telephone 242-359-2542.

Knowles & Bhupathi lead 2-0 in Group B.

Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles edged a tight encounter with Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tuesday afternoon at The O2.

Having also defeated Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak in their first match Sunday, they now top Group B with a 2-0 match record. The top two teams from Groups A and B advance to the semi-finals on Saturday.

“We’re excited, very excited,” said Knowles. “Especially because they were playing extremely well. They were serving at an incredible rate; very hard, but also high percentage. They were playing really, really well there in the first set. We just kind of rode them out, got a couple looks at a second serve in the second set, and were able to return well and turn the match around. We played really solid at the end and kind of raised our level.

Mark Knowles’ Nassau Celebrity event set for Dec.5th.

Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational professional exhibition and charity event to be held in Nassau on December 5th, 2009 at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. The Exhibition starts at 3pm and is open to all.

Andy Roddick and Mark Knowles’ recent doubles partner from Wimbledon, Anna-Lena Groenefeld are confirmed to be in attendance.

Once again, the proceeds of the event will go to aid local children’s charities such as The Cancer Society, the Sassoon (Bahamas) Foundation for Pediatric Heart Care, The Special Olympics, The Association for the Physically Disabled, The Chance Foundation and the Mark Knowles Tennis Scholarship Fund. To date over $400,000 has been distributed to various charities. The aim this year is to increase total donations to $500,000.

Andy Roddick to play in the Bahamas.

Andy Roddick has agreed to participate in the 9th Mark Knowles Charity Invitational December 3-5 in an exhibition at the National Tennis Center.

“It’s extremely exciting to have a former world number one and grand slam champion and someone as popular as Andy coming to the event,” said Knowles yesterday. “It’s really a huge boost and it has added a lot of excitement. We are just waiting on his arrival because he has said he will be willing to participate in any event that we have on the schedule. That’s the type of person he is.”

Knowles and Roddick partnered at the Beijing Open where they reached the doubles final when Knowles’ regular partner Mahesh Bhupathi took a break to recuperate from a groin injury he sustained playing Davis Cup for India.

Roddick, who has been ranked No.1 in the world and is currently ranked No.7, has always wanted to come to the Bahamas and participate in the tournament, according to Knowles.

Paying together in Beijing solidified this year’s appearance for the No.1 ranked American player, who won the 2003 US Open and was a three-time Wimbledon finalist. “We got a little closer and I found out that he such a nice guy,” Knowles said. “He has his own foundation like the Andy Roddick Charitable Organisation, so he understands what it is I’m doing,” Knowles said.

“With him coming, I think it’s going to be one of the greatest ever. To have somebody like Andy Roddick in the Bahamas is going to be so exciting.”

This year, Knowles and his organisers have switched the professional tennis exhibition from Atlantis on Paradise Island to the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, 3pm Saturday, December 5.

While adults will be charged an admission fee, Vicki Knowles-Andrews, Knowles’ mother, has indicated that they will be allowing children to be admitted free so as to give as many of them as possible the opportunity to meet Roddick up close and personal.

Doubles is so much fun!

Andy shared a nice moment with his friends after losing the match, giving Bob Bryan a chest pump during the presentation ceremony.

Despite an impressive week together, Andy and Mark Knowles were unable to overcome the world number two pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan in the final of the China Open. Andy and Mark Knowles lost 6-4, 6-2.

Andy’s Davis Cup team mates, Bob and Mike Bryan admitted they had prepared for a tough match in Sunday’s final:

“We were ready for a dog fight,” said Bob Bryan. “When you’ve got one of the best singles players of our era playing with one of the best doubles players of our era it’s going to make for a great match up. Mike and I came out focussed and played one of the best matches we’ve played in a long time.”

Andy is now off to Shanghai for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Roddick gone from the singles, but is still in the doubles.

Andy is out in the first round of the China Open after a superb performance from qualifier Lukasz Kubot saw the Pole prevail 6-2, 6-4.

Andy was looking to defend his title at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Beijing this week and would have qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals had he reached the final and other results had gone his way.

He will have the chance to secure his place at the eight-man field in London when he competes at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 next week.

While Andy was playing in his first match since the US Open, World No. 143 Kubot had won three matches in qualifying and came into the match in strong form, breaking serve three times as he clinched the first set 6-2.

Andy hit back in the second set to take a 3-1 lead, but two unforced errors proved costly as he immediately handed the break back to Kubot, double faulting to make the score line 3-2.

Kubot took to the court with an aggressive game plan and maintained it throughout. The 27 year old, who reached his first ATPWorld Tour final in Belgrade in May, kept his composure in the latter stages of the second set and broke serve to lead 5-4 as Andy netted a forehand. The Pole then closed out the victory with successive aces after 81 minutes.

All is not lost for Andy in Beijing as he and Mark Knowles remain in contention in the doubles draw. They will face Jose Acasuso and Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals after the South Americans ousted top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic on Tuesday.

Mark Knowles & Andy Roddick a ‘new’ doubles team?

In the 16-team doubles draw, Andy has partnered Bahamian Mark Knowles – a former doubles World No. 1 who has won a staggering 52 titles. It will be the first time the two have played together.

Andy and Knowles are unseeded and will face Chinese Taipei wild cards Hsin-Han Lee and Tsung-Hua Yang in the first round. In the quarter-finals, there is the strong possibility of facing World No. 1 duo Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.

Andy’s Davis Cup teammates Bob and Mike Bryan are also in the draw, seeded second.

Defending champion Andy is seeded third in the 32-man singles draw and will meet Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot in the first round. It’s a strong field in the Chinese capital, evidenced by Andy’s possible second round opponents – either Paul-Henri Mathieu or Ivan Ljubicic.

Sixth seed and Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling is a potential quarter-final opponent, while Andy also shares the bottom half of the draw with World No. 4 Novak Djokovic and this week’s Kuala Lumpur runner-up Fernando Verdasco, seeded fifth.

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal leads the field as he makes his return from an abdominal strain, but would not face Andy until the final. Kuala Lumpur champion Nikolay Davydenko is also involved in the top half, as is eighth-seeded wild card Marin Cilic.

Mark Knowles…..a Bahamian workhorse, wins Wimbledon.

Winning a Wimbledon title was a dream, as it is for any player, but there was an extra incentive for Knowles.

“I have a British passport – my mom’s British – so I’ve grown up in the tradition of Wimbledon. It was always the one tournament I wanted to win,” he revealed. “To finally have won it, it’s thrilling. To be on Centre Court, and to go up in the Royal Box and receive the trophy, it’s something that no one can ever take away from me.”

Knowles has now won all four Grand Slam tournaments, adding his first mixed doubles title to his men’s doubles titles won alongside former partner Daniel Nestor at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 US Open and 2007 Roland Garros. He and Nestor were also finalists at Wimbledon in 2002.

The Bahamian also achieved a special milestone earlier in The Championships, playing his 1000th career doubles match – the most among active players – in the men’s doubles quarter-finals with Mahesh Bhupathi. He is only the sixth player to reach the 1000-match plateau, joining Cyril Suk (1147), Sherwood Stewart (1080), Todd Woodbridge (1042), Rick Leach (1038) and Jonas Bjorkman (1015).

“At the start of your career it’s not really something you set out to do,” said the 37-year old. “It’s unfathomable that you’ll be around that long and be that successful. I’m just playing because I still enjoy the game, and I still enjoy the challenge of trying to win matches. There’s so much competition out there and it’s changed so much since I first came on tour so it brings a whole different excitement to it.”

Men’s Doubles final set…….go knowlee!

Second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan will contest their fifth straight Australian Open final against third seeds Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi, who will be appearing in their first Grand Slam championship title-match, on Saturday.

The Bryan twins defeated fourth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-3, 6-3 in 54 minutes on the Hisense Arena, in what was a repeat of the 2008 US Open final. Dlouhy and Paes committed nine unforced errors, as the Bryans converted five of eight break point opportunities.

The 30-year-old Californians finished runner-up in 2004 (l. to Llodra-Santoro) and 2005 (l. to Black-Ullyett) and won back-to-back titles in 2006 (d. Damm-Paes) and 2007 (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi).

They are currently fourth in the all-time doubles Grand Slam title leaders of the Open Era behind Australians John Newcombe and Tony Roche (7), Americans Peter Fleming and John McEnroe (7) and Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde (11). 

The Bryans opened their 2009 ATP World Tour season by capturing their 50th ATP World Tour title at the Medibank International in Sydney (d. Nestor-Zimonjic). They are only the fourth team in the Open Era to win at least 50 titles, joining Woodbridge-Woodforde (61), Fleming-McEnroe (57), and Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan (57).

Knowles and Bhupathi earned a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against the unseeded Polish-Austrian duo of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. They raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, and then capitalised on three of their four break point chances in the second set to secure the victory in 58 minutes.