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.
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