Longines - Michael Chen Zhao at Roland Garros
WEEHAWKEN, NJ - May 25, 2011 - Michael Chen Zhao, the United States' representative for the 2011 Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament at Roland Garros, June 2-4, has been preparing both on and off the court in advance of his first international and clay court competition. The 12-year-old Princeton Junction, NJ native qualified for the Tournament following a victory at last month's U.S. Future Tennis Aces Tournament at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open, in Flushing Meadows, NY.
Zhao, currently ranked No. 11 in the USTA national 12-and-under division, will compete against athletes from 15 countries for a chance to play in a doubles exhibition match with tennis legends Andre Agassi and Jim Courier on the historic red-clay courts at the French Open, and receive financing for tennis equipment until their 16th birthday, courtesy of Longines.
"I'm really excited and a little nervous about this really cool experience," said Zhao. "There will be a little pressure as well since this will be my first time at an international tournament. I'm preparing by training really hard and maybe getting a chance to hit on red clay before I go."
Zhao began playing tennis at 5-years-old and entered his first tournament by age 8. His best finish is a third-place result at a National Open event at the National Tennis Center and he has reached the quarterfinals of the USTA Winter National 12s Championship played the first week of January in Tucson, Arizona. He dominates his opponents using his powerful backhand and claims to model his ground strokes after his idol Novak Djokovic. "I like the form of his strokes and how much energy he has when he plays," he said.
Longines Future Tennis Aces is part of the brand's global commitment to support and develop tennis' superstars of tomorrow. All the players who qualified for the Paris event will have the opportunity to attend the French Open Women's Final on June 4. Longines is the official timekeeper and partner of the French Open.
A complete schedule of events follows:
Longines Future Tennis Aces World Championship
Date: Thursday and Friday, June 2-3
Time: 11:00 am - 6.00 pm local time Paris
Location: Roland Garros courts 16Longines Future Tennis Aces World FINAL
Date: Saturday, June 4
Time: 10:15 am local time Paris
Location: Roland Garros courts 7
Andre Agassi and Jim Courier Exhibition Match featuring finalists from Longines Future Tennis Aces Tournament
Date: Saturday, June 4
Time: 11:15 am local Paris time
Location: Roland Garros courts 7
Press Conference with Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Longines President Walter Von Känel
Date: Saturday, June 4
Time:1:00-1:45 p.m. local Paris time
Location: Tenniseum at Roland Garros
Longines - Elegant Tennis
WORLDTEMPUS - 7 June 2010
Longines sponsors the French Open for the fourth time and adds Gustavo Kuerten's charity to its list of tennis-related philanthropy in addition to young up-and-comers from all over the world.
The sunny Thursday on Roland Garros's court 16 could not have been more exciting for 12-year-old Lauren Fishbein from the USA. Not only did she win her first-round match against Niki Chia of Singapore to advance to the semis of Longines's Future Tennis Aces competition, but she had the spontaneous pleasure of meeting her idol Serena Williams, who happened to be practicing on the next court. The girls' competition was eventually won by Russian Aleksandra Pospelova, who knocked Fishbein out. She and boys' winner Jaime Fermosel Delgado from Spain received not only a stipend of $2,000 per year for tennis equipment until they turn 18 and one of the Swiss manufacturer's watches, but also the chance to play in an exhibition doubles match with legendary tennis players Mary Pierce, Gustavo Kuerten, and Mansour Bahrami. The junior players exhibited extreme composure despite the exciting circumstances in front of approximately 400 spectators on Court 7 and a media conference held in Roland Garros's Tenniseum announcing the winners and Longines's involvement in Kuerten's Instituto Guga Kuerten, a charity that works with disadvantaged Brazilian children.
The same evening Longines held a gala event at Paris's Musee Rodin in honor of Kuerten, who received the Longines Prize for Elegance for this year from brand ambassador and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Kuerten, who exited the professional circuit prematurely before the age of 30 due to a back injury, is now exerting his considerable energy and resources to lead his charity and "give back" to underprivileged Brazilian children in the hopes of educating them and "giving them good feelings about life."
The sponsorship of Kuerten's charity follows in the footsteps of Longines's commitment to Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf's two charities as announced last year on the occasion of the tenth anniversaries of their respective wins at the French Open. Like Agassi and Graf at the 2009 French Open, Kuerten and Pierce—who is also currently launching her own charity for children—also won their French Open titles exactly one decade ago.
Longines's longtime commitment to tennis and philanthropy continues to expand. At a time when the combination of tennis and watches seems to be making quite a splash among consumers, Longines has positioned itself beautifully in this elegant world of internationally acclaimed athletes. Longines also supports current WTA and ATP touring professionals, including young pros Agnieszka Radwanska and Tsung-Hua Yang. Upon completion of this year's French Open, Longines donated $100,000 each to the Andre Agassi Foundation, Graf's Children for Tomorrow, and the Instituto Guga Kuerten.