2001 Hamlet a Smash - SuffolkJournal.com

2001 Hamlet Cup A Smash!

August 10, 2001

This year’s Hamlet Cup promises to be one of the most exciting in its 21 years with Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanisevic headlining the roster of international tennis stars. The tournament features 32 of the world’s top singles players and 16 of the top doubles teams competing in a single-elimination format Qualifying rounds on August 18 and 19 will determine who will play in the Main Draw August 20 – 26.

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Pete Sampras, an American favorite took a wild-card slot at this year's Hamlet Cup. Although he has not won a title this year, his decades long championship honors make him a crowd pleaser. Should Sampras continue on to the final rounds, the event is expected to be a sell-out.

Another top-10 player joins an already impressive field at the 2001 Hamlet Cup as two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja of Spain, currently No. 9 in the ATP Champions Race, accepted a wild card and will be part of the 32-player main draw field. Corretja, a Hamlet Cup finalist in 1999,is the No. 1 Spanish player and has one tournament win this year, coming at Amsterdam last month. Two main draw wild cards remain open.

“We’re excited to add another quality player such as Alex Corretja to our tennis field,” said by Kari Mutscheller, tournament director. “The main field is shaping up as one of our toughest in recent history. The last player standing on Sunday will deserve to be the Hamlet Cup champion.”

The Hamlet Cup now boasts eight players in the top-20 and two Grand Slam winners among the field. Already committed are: Ivanisevic (No. 11); two-time U.S. Open Champion and last month’s Wimbledon finalist Patrick Rafter (No. 4); Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement of France (No. 12); American Jan-Michael Gambill (No. 14); Guillermo Canas of Argentina (tie No. 16); Fabrice Santoro of France (tie No. 16) and Thomas Johansson of Sweden (No. 19).

Magnus Norman of Sweden is the reigning two-time defending Hamlet Cup Champion, while Germany’s Tommy Haas (No. 22) and Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist (No. 35) should also contend for the Long Island crown.

The 32-player field will be completed with four qualifying spots and the two additional wild card selections. The 32-player qualifying tournament will take place on Saturday and Sunday, August 18-19, with the main draw beginning on Monday, August 20.

Also earning direct entry in the main draw are No. 36 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, Albert Costa of Spain, Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Wayne Arthurs of Australia. Others entered include: Galo Blanco (ESP), Harel Levy (ISR), Xavier Malisse (BEL), Alberto Martin (ESP), David Prinosil (GER), Tommy Robredo (ESP), Rainer Schuettler (GER), Michal Tabara (CZE) and Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE).

Hamlet Cup presented by Roslyn Savings Bank is Long Island’s premier tennis event. An International Series Event on the ATP tour, the Hamlet Cup, in its 21^st year, offers the finest men’s tennis played anywhere in the world.

The singles winner will earn $57,000, the runner-up, $33,500 and the doubles champions will share a $28,500 purse. Defending champions, Magnus Norman from Sweden and Richard Krajicek from the Netherlands as well as doubles champions Jonathan Stark from the US, teammate Kevin Ulyett from Zimbabwe and Americans Jan-Michael Gambill and Scott Humpries are returning for this year’s competition.

Play will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday for the qualifying rounds, with ticket prices starting at $10. Tickets for the main sessions range in price from $22 - $38. Television coverage of the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be broadcast on FOX Television. For tickets, schedules or other information click here

And visit Suffolkjournal.com for continuing coverage of the 2001 Hamlet Cup.