Miami Masters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held at Key Biscayne, in Miami, Florida. The event's current sponsored name is the Sony Ericsson Open.
The event is part of the ATP Masters Series on the men's tour and is a Tier 1 event on the women's tour. The tournament is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The event is currently held in March each year.
The tournament is widely regarded as the most prestigious on the ATP and WTA tours, and was given the nickname "Fifth Grand Slam". Its importance is reflected by the WTA's decision to designate it a mandatory event, like the 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
The event was initially known as the Lipton International Players Championships. In 2000 there was a change of title sponsor and the event was renamed the Ericsson Open. In 2002, the event became known as the NASDAQ-100 Open. In 2007, the tournament will be renamed the Sony Ericsson Open in a deal where the company will pay $20 million over the next four years.
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[edit] History
The tournament was founded by former player Butch Buchholz. His original aim was to make the event the first major tournament of the year (the Australian Open was held in December at that time), and he dubbed it the "Winter Wimbledon". Buchholz approached the ATP and the WTA and offered to provide the prize-money and give them a percentage of the ticket sales and worldwide television rights in return for the right to run the tournament for 15 years. The two associations agreed.
The first tournament was held in February of 1985 at Laver's International Tennis Resort at Delray Beach, Florida. Buchholz brought in Alan Mills, the tournament referee at Wimbledon, as the head referee; and Ted Tinling, a well-known tennis fashion designer since the 1920s, as the director of protocol. The prize money of US$1.8 million was surpassed only by Wimbledon and the US Open at the time. (The event's prize-money has since grown to over US$6 million.)
In 1986, the tournament relocated to Boca Raton. It moved to its permanent home at Key Biscayne in 1987.
[edit] Event characteristics
Besides the four Grand Slam championships, the Miami Masters one of the few events on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours where the main singles draw (for both the men and the women) involves more than 64 players, and where main draw play extends beyond one week. 96 men and 96 women compete in the singles competition, and 32 teams compete in each of the doubles competitions. The event lasts for 12 days.
Given its size, history, and the fact that it is a combined event involving both men and women, some people consider the Miami Masters to be the sixth most prestigious event on the ATP and WTA tours – after the four Grand Slams and the Tennis Masters Cup / WTA Tour Championships.
In 2006, the tournament became the first event in the United States to utilize instant replay to allow players to challenge close line calls. Players were be allowed two challenges per set, with an additional challenge allowed for tiebreaks.
[edit] Past results
[edit] Men’s Singles
[edit] Women’s Singles
[edit] Doubles champions
A mixed doubles competition was also held at the inaugural tournament in 1985, and was won by Heinz Günthardt & Martina Navratilova.
[edit] Trivia
- The men's final has been abonded three times since the tournament's inception.
- In 1989, Thomas Muster was hit by a drunk driver the night before the final, which put him in a wheelchair for months. He was able to win the championship eight years later.
- In 1996, Goran Ivanišević retired from the match early with a stiff neck.
- In 2004, Guillermo Coria retired after three sets due to back pain and an inability to move properly. The problem later turned out to be gall stones.
[edit] External links
| ATP Masters Series Tournaments |  |
| Indian Wells | Miami | Monte Carlo | Rome | Hamburg | Montreal/Toronto | Cincinnati | Madrid | Paris |
| WTA Tier I Tournaments |
| Tokyo | Indian Wells | Miami | Charleston | Berlin | Rome | San Diego | Montreal/Toronto | Moscow | Zürich |
