FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 7th, 2008
Contact: Steve Tompkins
(617) 288-9092
TATISHVILLI WINS WOMEN’S
$50K SINGLES FINAL
Chan, Grandin Take Doubles Championship
Last week, sixty–four of
the world’s most gifted women
in tennis representing more than
22 countries competed for the chance
to win a $50,000 prize and entry
into the US Open – one of
the premiere events in the sport
and one–quarter of the famed
Grand Slam of tennis.
Returning for the second straight
year to Sportsmen’s Tennis
Club, one of Dorchester’s
most venerable neighborhood institutions,
the Empire/USTA Women’s $50k
Pro Challenger began with thirty
two hopefuls battling in a qualifying
tournament to be among four wildcard
additions to a main draw of twenty–eight
that would vie for the title.
One week and fifty–nine matches
later, a new champion distinguished
herself among her talented peers
by emerging from the pack with the
title and what will be her highest
ranking to date. Anna Tatishvili
of the People’s Republic of
Georgia defeated Taipei’s
Chin–Wei Chan by a score of
2–6, 6–1, 6–3
to become the 2008 winner of the
2008 Women’s Pro Challenger
and possessor of the $50,000 prize
money.
“I am happy to be here,”
Tatishvili said following the tournament.
“It was hard in the first
set, but I just focused better and
started to use my serve. It feels
good to win this tournament against
all these other good players.”
Also feeling upbeat despite coming
up short against her opponent in
the Finals, courtesy of her Doubles
championship win with partner Natalie
Grandin of South Africa, Chan was
looking forward to another opportunity
in the upcoming $50k in Allentown,
Pennsylvania.
“I would have been pretty
sad if I had lost both of the matches,”
Chan said. “But now, I’m
just focused on heading to Allentown
and playing.”
“This is pretty nice, because
I won in doubles here last year
as well,” said Grandin. “It’s
good that we were able to get the
win. It was a good match.”
Grandin and Chan beat the U.S.’s
Varvara Lepchenko, last year’s
Singles winner, and partner Yulia
Fedossova (FRA), 6–4, 6–3.
At the close of the tournament,
members of Sportsmen’s Tennis
Club and the USTA were in full agreement
over what they happily deemed “a
great event.”
“We’ve seen some great
improvement, 100% improvement, over
last year’s tournament,”
said USTA Supervisor Missy Malool.
“It’s been great and
we’re looking forward to coming
back here for many years to come.”
Present for both years of the tournament
at Sportsmen’s, Board Chairman
Steve Tompkins has proudly helped
to shepherd the event along to its
current standing.
“In this, our second year
holding this event, we learned so
much about how to run a professional
tournament,” said Tompkins.
“We’re excited about
2009 and we expect it to be even
bigger and better.”
About the caliber of tennis on
display during the tournament, Tompkins
said,“We’ve seen some
extraordinary play by some of the
most proficient and exciting players.
It has truly been an honor to host
them here at Sportsmen’s.”
Summarizing the event succinctly
but precisely, Executive Director
for Sportsmen’s Tennis Club Toni
Wiley offered:
“They say that Boston is
a world–class city, and with
this tournament, we proved it.”
Empire Loan
Empire Loan is committed to providing
short–term collateralized
loans in a safe, friendly, and professional
environment. We will endeavor to
dispel long held misrepresentations
of the pawn broking industry by
treating every customer with the
utmost respect. Empire Loan will
be a shining example of good corporate
citizenship by participating in
and partnering with community based
non-profit organizations. We are
dedicated to serving our customers
best interests, and to earning their
trust and confidence by operating
in an ethical and fair manner. Empire
Loan is also committed to paying
a living wage with full healthcare
benefits to our valued employees.
Sportsmen’s Tennis
Club
Sportsmen’s Tennis Club is
a 501(c) 3, non–profit corporation
organized in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Founded over forty
years ago with a mission of providing
low–cost tennis to urban youth,
Sportsmen's has distinguished itself
as a unique, community–based
organization providing a nurturing
and supportive environment for children
of all races. Sportsmen’s
is recognized nationally as a pioneer
in using the sport of tennis to
enhance the lives of urban youth.
Sportsmen’s is successful
because of its inter–disciplinary
nature and the unifying methodology
that is consistently applied across
all program components – academic,
athletic, health and social. Today
Sportsmen’s remains committed
to providing low cost tennis training
and academic support for minority
youth who would not otherwise have
an opportunity to participate or
excel in the sport.
USTA Pro Circuit
With 96 tournaments throughout the
country and prize money ranging
from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA
Pro Circuit is the pathway to the
US Open and tour–level competition
for aspiring tennis players and
a frequent battleground for established
professionals. More than 1,100 men
and women from 79 countries competed
on the USTA Pro Circuit in 2004
for nearly $3 million in prize money
and valuable ATP and WTA Tour ranking
points. Jelena Jankovic, Anastasia
Myskina, Maria Sharapova, and Nicole
Vaidisova are among the top stars
that began their careers on the
USTA Pro Circuit. For more information,
log on to http://procircuit.usta.com.
