HCMC - Vietnamese tennis fans can watch four top international players play for US$80,000 in prize money at Phu Tho Indoor Sports Center in HCMC at the Heineken Stars 2010 on October 1 and 2.
David Nalbandian of Argentina, ranked 33rd in the world; world No. 252 Tommy Haas of Germany; world No.22 Sam Querrey and world No.102 Robby Ginepri of the U.S. will play in two playoff matches for places in the final.
David Nalbandian, former World No. 3, currently ranks 33rd in the world. He was champion in ATP Tour Washington 2010 and he was runner up in the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.
Tommy Haas, who reached a career-high ranking of world No.2 in 2002, currently ranks 252nd in the world. The German player was a 2009 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
Sam Querrey is a professional American tennis player. As of August, he was the fourth-highest ranked American. This year he reached his career high as No. 19. Querrey, currently seeded 22nd in the world, was winner of the Serbia Open 2010.
Meanwhile, Robby Ginepri, currently 102nd in ATP rankings was the winner of the ATP Tour Indianapolis 2009. He reached a career-best of world No.15 in 2005.
After the first two round knockout matches at 5p.m. on Friday, the two finalists will battle for the title at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, the organizers told a press conference in HCMC on Wednesday.
The champion will receive a cash prize of US$40,000, while the runner-up will take home US$20,000, with prizes of US$10,000 each going to the remaining players.
Besides playing competitive tennis, the four international stars will also be meeting lots of fans at the venue before the matches.
This is the third time the Heineken Stars has taken place in Vietnam. The second tournament in 2008 also had the participation of four stars: Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Robin Soderling and Mardy Fish. Tsonga was the champion after defeating Soderling.
The 2006 tournament saw Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, and Rainer Schuettler and Nicolas Kiefer of Germany battle it out with Schuettler taking the championship.
The Heineken Stars 2010 is being organized by the Vietnam Tennis Federation in conjunction with Heineken’s local manufacturer Vietnam Brewery Ltd., and locally based TLT Sports Marketing.
Tickets cost VND800,000, VND500,000 and VND250,000 for all matches and are available at Nguyen Du Indoor Stadium, 143 Nguyen Du Street, District 1 or (0908 212 962), TLT Sports Marketing, 63A, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1 (0983 799 924 or 0908 324 819), Phu Tho Gymnasium, 1 Lu Gia Street, District 11 and Thong Nhat Stadium, 30 Nguyen Kim Stress, District 10, HCMC.
