KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd has come on board as title sponsors of the Malaysian Open tennis tournament at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Sept 26-Oct 4.
The inaugural tournament, which is part of the ATP World Tour and carries US$947,750 in prize money, will feature two players from the world�s top 10, five from the top 15 and seven of the top 20.
Tournament director Nick Freyer said yesterday that they were delighted to have a major Malaysian company backing the event.
The stars making their way here include three quarter-finalists at the just concluded US Open � Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Fernando Gonzalez and Swede Robin Soderling.
The other top players for the tournament include world No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, Gael Monfils of France and two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.
�The players coming to KL are going to be such great ambassadors for the sport,� said Freyer.
�The business end of a Grand Slam starts in the last 16 and at the US Open, we had five players reach that stage � Soderling, Davydenko, Verdasco, Gonzalez and Monfils.
�Hewitt was the first player to take a set off Federer. So all the guys will be arriving in good form and that will add to the excitement of the tournament.� A lucky fan will win a Proton car on one of the last three days of the tournament (Oct 2-4) during one of the sessions of play when there will be a �Catch the Super Golden Ball� activity.
The winner of the car will be the one who catches the special golden ball hit by one of the ATP World Tour players after a match on centre court.
And daily, the winner of every match on centre court will hit signed tennis balls into the stands. Those who catch the balls will also get to claim one of hundreds of high-value prizes.
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