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Blake & Haas Join 2010 Delray Beach ATP World Tour Event

Former Top 10 Krickstein Will Play in ATP Champions Tour Event

DELRAY BEACH(October 17, 2009) Three familiar faces have signed up to play in the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC), an expanded 9-day tennis extravaganza at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center Feb. 20-28 that includes both an ATP World Tour and ATP Champions Tour event.

2007 & 2008 Delray Beach finalist James Blake and 2006 champion Tommy Haas will return to the ATP World Tour event, while the inaugural ATP Champions Tour event has added Aaron Krickstein, a member of the 1990 US winning Davis Cup team and now the director of tennis at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton.

Both events will be held simultaneously over the 9-day Delray Beach ITC in February. Already committed to the ATP World Tour event are 2009 defending champions Mardy Fish and the No. 1 world-ranked Bryan Brothers, while tennis icon John McEnroe highlights an ATP Champions Tour card that also includes former Grand Slam champions Mats Wilander and Pat Cash.

The draws for our two events are rounding out nicely, said Mark Baron, Delray Beach ITC tournament director. Whether youve been a fan for a year or for 30 years, theres going to be exciting tennis for everyone to watch in Delray Beach.

With Blake, Haas, and Fish, the 18th annual ATP World Tour tournament will showcase three players who have played in the last four ITC finals. Fish is 13-5 in Delray Beach, Blake is 9-4 and Haas 7-3.

Blake has won 10 career ATP titles and was the ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 2006 after recovering from injury and an illnessthe same year he reached a career-best No. 4 in the world. The German-born and 18th-ranked Haas has won 12 career ATP titles, reached No. 2 in the world in 2002, and following shoulder surgery, was the 2004 ATP Comeback Player of the Year. He won this years Halle title with a win over No. 4 Novak Djokovic and then reached the Wimbledon semifinal before losing to No. 1 Roger Federer.

Krickstein, who was ranked in the ATPs Top 10 rankings for five seasons between 1984 and 1991, played in the inaugural ITC in 1993 in Coral Springs. He owns ATP records for being the youngest title winner (Tel Aviv 1983) at age 16, and for his 1984 season where he was the youngest Top 10 ranked player ever at age 17. Along with McEnroe, Wilander and Cash, Krickstein will be a part of an 8-player draw in the first ATP Champions event that will be played in the United States.

Tickets are available on the official tournament website at www.YellowTennisBall.com or by calling (561) 330-6000. Single-session tickets go on sale Monday, October 19 at 10 am. They range in price from $15 - $30 for Grandstand seats, $35 - $55 for Reserved seats, and Box seats are $65 - $85. Ticket packages range in price from $230 to $518.  Fans can order all 17 sessions (Diamond), sessions 1 10 (Ruby), sessions 9-17 (Sapphire) or a package for the ATP World Tour quarterfinals through the finals (Weekender). Sessions 5 8 (Monday and Tuesday) include a chance for fans to enjoy both ATP Champions Tour and ATP World Tour matches. Box series packages are also available.       

ATP Champions Tour Event

February 20-23, 2010
Draw: 8 players, round robin format, each player plays a minimum of 3 times
Confirmed players: John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, Aaron Krickstein

ATP World Tour Event

Qualifying Tournament: February 20-21, 2010
Main Draw: February 22-28, 2010; Singles 32 players; Doubles 16 players Confirmed Players: Mardy Fish, James Blake, Tommy Haas, Bryan Brothers

About the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships: The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC) is the only ATP tournament in the world featuring an ATP Champions Tour event and an ATP World Tour event in the same week. Scheduled for February 20-28, 2010 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Florida, the ITC annually attracts the best tennis players in the world and thousands of visitors to Delray Beach and Palm Beach County. The $500,000 ATP World Tour event is entering its 18th year (12th in Delray Beach) while 2010 will be the inaugural year for the ATP Champions Tour event. Celebrated in 2003 with the ATP Award of Excellence, the privately-owned tournament features one of 11 ATP World Tour Events in the United States and the first-ever ATP Champions Tour event played on US soil. Total player compensation is $1.3 million for both events. For more information, please visit YellowTennisBall.com.

About ATP: ATP is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits - the ATP World Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour).  With 63 tournaments in 31 countries, the ATP World Tour showcases the finest male athletes competing in the worlds most exciting venues. From Australia to Europe and the Americas to Asia, the stars of the ATP World Tour battle for South African Airways ATP Ranking Points at Grand Slams (non ATP members), ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour 250 events. At the end of the season the worlds top 8 ranked mens singles players and top 8 doubles teams, based on their performance throughout the year, will qualify to compete in the seasons climax - the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to be held at Londons O2 arena, the event will officially crown the 2009 ATP World Tour Champion and determine the final South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings. For more information, please visit www.ATPWorldTour.com.
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