TENNIS – “Play! Girls”: The motto of the 37th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix has, once again, enticed the world’s best women players to Stuttgart. Eight top ten players will be competing in the Porsche Arena for prize money totalling 710,000 US dollars and the Porsche 911 Targa 4S for the winner from 19 to 27 April 2014. The star line-up will include title-holder Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber, Porsche Team Germany’s No. 1.
“We’ve once again got a main draw field normally only seen at Grand Slams and our audiences are certain to watch tennis of the highest class this year too,” said Markus Günthardt. That so many top stars have decided to come to the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is something he sees as being, “a compliment and big sign of the confidence they have in our tournament – and as a spur to get better and better.”
Russian Maria Sharapova will be returning to Stuttgart as the defending champion. The Porsche brand ambassador won the tournament in 2012 and 2013. Her opponent in last year’s final was the Chinese Li Na, who will come to Porsche Tennis Grand Prix as the current world No. 2 and the newly crowned Australian Open champion. She also heads the seedings. Other top ten players in Stuttgart are Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), Simona Halep (Romania), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), Sara Errani (Italy), Jelena Jankovic (Serbia), the 2008 winner, and Angelique Kerber. Porsche Team Germany’s top player has already reached the final this year in Sydney and Doha. Her two great performances against Slovakia were crucial in helping Porsche Team Germany reach the Fed Cup semifinals for the first time since 1995. In addition to Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, two other former world No. 1s, Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) and Ana Ivanovic (Serbia), will also be in the line-up.
Hoping for a wild card
Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki is the second Porsche Team Germany player certain of a place in the main draw. Her teammates Andrea Petkovic, Annika Beck, Mona Barthel and Julia Görges, who won the 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, are on the other hand hoping to be awarded one of the two wild cards. Anna-Lena Grönefeld is, especially after her win in Paris playing alongside Kveta Peschke, one of the favourites for the doubles – together with last year’s winning team of Sabine Lisicki/Mona Barthel.
Reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix main draw via qualifying and then gain invaluable experience for their careers when playing the world’s best is the aim of the sponsored players belonging to Porsche Talent Team Germany. The development curve is pointing upwards: whilst Anna-Lena Friedsam, the current German champion, Carina Witthöft and Antonia Lottner mainly collected important world ranking points on the ITF tournament circuit in 2013, Dinah Pfizenmaier caused a sensation last year at the French Open by reaching the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The reward: she broke into the WTA world top 100.
Pete Sampras in the duel of the legends
Tennis history will come alive in the Porsche Arena on the opening day of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix when Pete Sampras and Carlos Moyá face each other in the Berenberg Classics, an eagerly awaited duel of the legends – on Easter Monday, 21 April. “It’s a further highlight for our spectators to look forward to,” said Tournament Director Markus Günthardt. “We are proud to be able to present a tennis legend like Pete Sampras.” The American won 14 Grand Slam titles during the course of his career and stood 286 weeks at the top of the world rankings.
Ticket info: tickets for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, which begins on 19 April 2014 in Porsche Arena, Stuttgart – Germany, with the qualifying tournament, can be booked by phoning Easy Ticket Service on +49 (0) 711 / 2 55 55 55 or via internet at www.easyticket.de (Simone Kemler/Porsche Tennis)
