SONY ERICSSON OPEN EXPERIENCE:
Location: Miami, Florida
Venue: Tennis Center at Crandon Park
Surface: Hard Court
Notable Champions: Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Serena Williams
Previous Names: NASDAQ-100 Open, Lipton Championships
Also Known As: Miami Masters
It doesn’t matter whether you call this ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament the Sony Ericsson Open or the Miami Masters (we call it the Sony Ericsson Open). You know that going in, the 12 days of what founder Butch Bucholtz called “The Winter Wimbledon” will scorch the Florida hard-court, and not because of the weather.
Since its inception in 1985, the top players in the world have played – and won – the tournament. Names like Aggasi, Lendel, Federer and Djokovic have held up the trophy on the men’s side, while the Williams sisters, Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf are a handful of the women’s champions in Florida. This year, the world’s top players will descend upon Miami to compete for one of the world’s glorious and top prizes (the men’s prize is $3.6 million, while the women’s draw goes to $4.5 million). Currently, those expected to attend are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki. That’s quite the murder’s row of talent, one that isn’t usually seen playing stateside grouped like this outside of the U.S. Open.
Last year, over 300,000 attended the matches held at Key Biscayne, Florida’s Tennis Center at Crandon Park. That makes it one of the biggest non-Grand Slam tourneys in the world! With a triumvirate of greats—weather, players and excitement—why wouldn’t you get yourself to Florida and watch some of the best tennis players in the world battle?