THE Liverpool Hope International Tennis Tournament returns this year – and it’s expected to be the best yet.
The toast of the tournament is Marcus Williams, who was the talk of the country at Wimbledon 2016 after competing in a showdown on centre court with Roger Federer.
Williams later famously refused a £15,000 windfall from The S*n in respect for Liverpool.
He said: ”This is my first year competing in Liverpool but after my dream run at Wimbledon last year, I believe that Liverpool is the perfect place to kick off my 2017 grass court season.”
The Liverpool Hope International Tennis Tournament is in it’s 16th year, growing into the longest running and largest tennis exhibition in Europe.
Director of the tournament, Anders Borg, said: “Marcus is a fantastic person and a great player in particular on grass, and we are delighted to have him in Liverpool. I am sure we will organise a trip to Anfield for him during his stay.”
Liverpool Hope University has been the headline sponsor of the event for the past four years. Professor Mehmet Dorak, head of School of Health Sciences said: “We are excited to be the headlines sponsors once again, in what is a seminal year for Sports and Health Sciences at Liverpool Hope.
“We have completed our new £14.47 million Sports and Health Science building, which brings both disciplines under one roof and offers students and researchers easy access to top facilities.”
Also playing in this year’s tournament will be last year’s winner, Damir Dzumhur, who has this year beaten players like Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal.
Former Liverpool champion Ana Bogdan leads the women’s field in addition to up and coming Natalya Vikhlyantseva, who is only 19-years-old and already ranked 75 in the world.
The Liverpool Hope International Tennis Tournament takes place from June 15 – 18 at Liverpool Cricket Club. Tickets can be bought at www.liverpooltennis.co.uk
