Home Depot Center News

The 38th Annual LA Open presented by Herbalife is Set for August 6-12, 2007 at The Home Depot Center

(Carson, CA) - Two of tennis' most legendary players, John McEnroe, winner of 77 career singles tennis titles, including seven Grand Slams, and Jim Courier, owner of 23 career singles titles, including four Grand Slams, will face each other in a special exhibition match, the East West Bank Legends Match, on opening night of the 2007 LA Open presented by Herbalife at The Home Depot Center, it was announced by Shawn Hunter, President of AEG Sports.

The two former World No. 1's will play a best two of three sets on Monday, August 6, 2007, during the first evening of the annual women's tournament which this year will be headlined by Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, among other top-ten ranked players. The match will also feature a guest umpire and guest ball boys adding to the excitement and entertainment of the evening session.

\"We are looking forward to have tennis superstars John McEnroe and Jim Courier continue our tradition of world-class exhibition tennis to compliment our women's tournament,\" said Hunter. \"The men highlight the opening day activities and this special event is just a small part of the week-long festivities that truly make this event 'the ultimate celebration'.\"

Last year, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier launched the new tradition by entertaining tennis fans with two sets as part of the 2006 festivities. Sampras won the initial exhibition with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in front of the largest opening night crowd of the tournament's recent history. This year's East West Bank Legends Match promises to be just as entertaining.

McEnroe, who is now considered by many, tennis' best television commentator, posted a 864-194 career record and a .816 career singles winning percentage. He also amassed a 527-100 record in career doubles play. He won more than 150 singles and doubles championships, and played for 12 Davis Cup teams, including five championship teams. Together with Peter Fleming and others, McEnroe dominated men's doubles too, winning nine Grand Slam Championships.

With more than 150 singles and doubles titles to date, McEnroe has compiled an unparalleled record of achievement and raised the level of the game itself. One of his proudest achievements was leading the U.S.A. to five Davis Cup titles. In fact, he holds the record for the most U.S. Davis Cup wins in singles (41) and in singles and doubles combined (59).

\"I am pleased to be a part of the LA Tournament,\" said McEnroe. \"I will be ready on August 6th to play Jim Courier, as our matches are always competitive and he brings out the best tennis in me.\"

The two champions met three times during their career. McEnroe captured a win in their first-ever meeting in 1988, a straight set quarter-finals match on carpet (6-2, 6-4). Courier bounced back to win the two other meetings, a 1991 straight set win (6-2, 6-2) in Tokyo and a three set victory at the U.S. Open in 1992 (6-2, 6-2, 7-6).

\"I am excited at the opportunity to return to this wonderful tennis event,\" said Courier. \"Playing against John is always a challenge that I relish both physically and mentally.\"

A Closer look at McEnroe and Courier
John McEnroe	Head-To-Head	Jim Courier
February 16, 1959	Birthdate	August 17, 1970
Wiesbaden, Germany	Birthplace	Sanford, FL
New York, NY	Residence	Orlando, FL
5'11\" (180 cm)	Height	6'1\" (185 cm)
165 lbs (75 kg)	Weight	182 lbs (82 kg)
165 lbs (75 kg)	Weight	182 lbs (82 kg)
Left-Handed	Plays	Right-handed
1978	Turned Pro	1988
77	Career Titles	23
77	Career Titles	23
864-194	Singles Record	506-237
527-100	Doubles Record	124-97

Both McEnroe and Courier are members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. McEnroe was elected in 1999 while Courier was named in 2005.

Early entries for the 2007 LA Open presented by Herbalife have been announced and include No. 2 ranked Maria Sharapova, No. 3 ranked Jelena Jankovic, No. 7 ranked Serena Williams, No. 11 Nadia Petrova and No. 14 ranked Nicole Vaidisova.

This year's tournament will once again feature a fireworks extravaganza on Saturday night as well popular tennis giveaways for children and adults throughout the week-long tournament at The Home Depot Center.

The LA Open presented by Herbalife will offer a special ticket package for the McEnroe vs. Courier Legends Night, which starts at $48.50 and includes a ticket to Opening Night and the Thursday night session. Other ticket packages include a VIP Party Package and tennis clinic that are available for purchase. The VIP Party Package and tennis clinic also include a meet-and-greet with both legends. All Session ticket packages, including all 12 sessions of play, start at just $235.00. In addition, weekend packages which include a total of five sessions played on Friday (two sessions), Saturday (two sessions) and the finals on Sunday start at only $125.00. Tennis fans purchasing these packages can save up to $731.00 off the regular price of individual tickets! For more information on all ticket packages, call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or visit www.la-open.com.

The LA Open presented by Herbalife is also a part of the prestigious US Open Series, which links 10 summer hard-court tournaments to the famed US Open. This year's LA Open presented by Herbalife marks the fourth year players competing in the US Open Series tournaments will be vying for bonus prize money at the US Open. Players competing in the \"summer season\" of tennis at the participating Sony Ericsson WTA tournaments will receive US Open Series points which will ultimately earn the series winner the opportunity to double her US Open prize purse.

The 2007 LA Open presented by Herbalife…THE SUMMER'S ULTIMATE TENNIS CELEBRATION.

About the LA Open presented by Herbalife

The Los Angeles Ultimate Tennis Celebration Presented by Herbalife, at 38 years old one of the most historic events in women's tennis, is being held for the fourth consecutive year at The Home Depot Center. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event offers prize money of $600,000 to the 56-player singles and 16-team doubles draws. The distinguished tournament champions' list includes Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, all of whom have also been ranked number one on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour during their careers. For more information please visit www.la-open.com.

About The Home Depot Center

The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California. The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center. The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

Contact
Charles Harris
949-838-4214
harris2005@cox.net