(SUNRISE, FL) - Game, set, match! Sunrise, Florida wins as new venue of the world’s first Super Challenger: the Pro Tennis World Open. The men’s professional tournament moves to the City’s Tennis Club Park on West Oakland Park Blvd. in March 2005 – giving South Floridians a rare chance to see the world’s top fifty players in action, up close and personal.

“This is the only ATP event in Broward County,” says Gabe Norona, Tournament Director, “and one of only a handful in the whole state of Florida. Our first year in Boca Raton was great, but the move to Sunrise, with its location in the center of the tri-county area, makes us much more accessible to fans. Plus, the facility is amazing.”

In 2004, the PTWO attracted the strongest field an ATP Challenger has ever seen – as strong as most major tour events. Competitors included Todd Martin, who has 400 career match wins; Thomas Enqvist, with 19 career titles; and some of the hottest 2004 players: Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic; Guillermo Canas, winner of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart and Croatia Open Umag; Igor Andreev, finalist at the Allianz Suisse Open and quarterfinalist at the Stella Artois Championships; and PTWO’s 04 winner, Jurgen Melzer – quarterfinalist at the Tennis Masters Series at Montreal and semi-finalist at the Internationaler Raiffei Grand Prix at St. Poelten, Austria.

The PTWO draws the highest ranked players in the world because it’s the only U.S. hard court event scheduled just before the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami – the sport’s most important tournament outside the Grand Slams. Players value the PTWO as a competitive hardcourt “warmup” along with its $100,000 prize money. The ATP allows the tournament to recruit top fifty players, and offer wildcards to top ten players – guaranteeing an impressive draw.

Tennis Club Park celebrated its grand opening in February 2001 – quickly earning its place as the premier public tennis facility in South Florida. The Park offers four asphalt-based cushioned courts and one asphalt-based tournament court – as well as lighting, sheltered spectator areas and restrooms. It also features a clubhouse with a pro shop, players' lounge, locker rooms and 10 Hydrocourt clay courts. An expansion is being planned which will include additional facilities and amenities.

“When we were designing this facility, we envisioned creating one of the finest tennis venues in South Florida for a world-class tournament,” said Sunrise Mayor Steven Feren. “With the finalization of this agreement with the Pro Tennis World Open, I believe we’ve accomplished that vision. We are proud and pleased to host this exciting tournament.”

“With the cooperation and support we’re getting from the City of Sunrise, the sky’s really the limit for our event,” says Norona. “We’ll have the very best tennis players in the world, an incredible tournament village, and we’re centrally located – so we’ll attract tens of thousands of fans from all over South Florida, if not the entire U.S.”

For more information, contact:
David Kustin at On the Ball
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(954) 332 2200 ext 1001