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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships

DELRAY BEACH, FL (YellowTennisBall.com) — Tennis legend John McEnroe will return to the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ITC) for the event’s second annual ATP Champions Tour tournament, while past ITC champions Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers and fellow American and Wimbledon record-setting John Isner have committed to playing in the event’s ATP World Tour tournament.

The Delray Beach ITC will be played during a 10-day stretch from Friday, February 18 - Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center. The ATP Champions Tour will premier on Friday evening, February 18 while the ATP World Tour matches begin Monday, February 21.

McEnroe and popular Grand Slam champions Mats Wilander and Pat Cash drew rave reviews in the inaugural 8-player ATP Champions event last February; the trio will be joined in 2011 by ‘97 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski and ‘98 US Open & 2003 Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis, both making their first Delray Beach appearances on the ATP Champions Tour.

“We saw very clearly last year that there was tremendous interest in seeing players from different eras,” said tournament director Mark Baron, who created the first-of-its-kind ATP dual-event. “I can’t tell you how many people loved watching Mac and Wilander playing at such an amazing level. The Champions Tour is a great kickoff to our World Tour event.”

Fans are being offered a first-ever ticket discount to the Delray Beach ITC that will run exclusively during the US Open: 20% off individual reserved seats to any session and 10% off all individual box seats and reserved series packages. The promo ends Sunday, September 12 at 11:59 pm and is available on www.YellowTennisBall.com or by calling (561) 330-6000 and using promo code TENNIS.

Fish, the 2009 ITC singles champion, has a 16-6 record in Delray and was also a 2003 finalist. He will be making his 8th appearance at the ITC since turning pro in 2000. The world No. 21 reached the Cincinnati Master Series final last week (defeating Andy Roddick in the semifinal), has won two ATP World Tour titles this year and is 22-4 over the last three months.

After winning their 62rd career doubles title in Los Angeles on August 1, Bob & Mike Bryan will return to Delray Beach next February as the winningest team in ATP history. The pair also celebrated their 600th career match win in the 2010 Delray semifinals before winning their second straight ITC doubles crown.

Isner has become a pop culture icon over the last two months following his 3-day, 11-hour, 55-minute epic win over Nicolas Mahut in Wimbledon’s first round. The marathon match shattered Wimbledon, Grand Slam and ATP World Tour records and Isner and Mahut received an ESPY Award for the Best Record-Breaking Performance. The international attention from the historic match has overshadowed the rising game of the 6’9” Georgia graduate who has reached No. 20 in the world.

For more information on the Delray Beach ITC, please visit YellowTennisBall.com, or call (561) 330-6000.

Posted on August 27, 2010
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