Nassau, Bahamas – The Bahamas very own professional tennis star, Mark Knowles returns home once a year to give back to his community and assist those less fortunate. To date his annual event has raised a notable milestone figure of $500,000
Mark Knowles was born in Nassau, Bahamas. Earned an All-American honors in singles and doubles at UCLA. Davis Cup team member since 1989 (41-32 career record, 23-25 in singles) with 29 ties, going into 2010, and is a five-time Olympian. Mark reached the top 100 as a singles player with wins over Marcello Rios, Gustavo Kuerten, Thomas Enquist and Tim Henman, prior to concentrating on doubles in 2001. He has 53 career doubles titles: 2002 Australian Open Doubles Champion, 2004 U.S.Open Champion, 2007 French Open Champion, 2007 ATP World Masters Champion, 2009 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Champion. Held the World No. 1 Doubles Ranking in 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005. Qualified 12 times for the ATP Tour World Masters Cup.
Oliver Marach was born in Graz, Austria. Highest Doubles Ranking: 8. Has won 8 career doubles titles. He began playing tennis at age six. Oliver’s favorite surfaces are clay and slow hard courts, and going into 2010, he has a 3-0 career singles record in Davis Cup play in two ties. He considers his forehand as his best shot, and says his best moment of his career so far is reaching SFs at Australian Open in 2009 and qualifying for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London 2 years in a row. Oliver opened the DNA Tennis Academy in Graz, Austria, in October 2010 and is coached by his wife Jessie Marach.
Donald James “Don” Johnson was born in Pennsylvania, USA. Reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2002. He has 23 doubles titles. During his career, he won the Wimbledon Men’s doubles title in 2001 and the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2000. He also won the doubles title at the Tennis Masters Cup in 2000. Prior to turning professional, Johnson played collegiate tennis for the University of North Carolina from 1987-1991. As a youngster, he earned the Sportsmanship Award at the USTA National Junior Championships in 1986.
Brent Haygarth was born in Durban, South Africa. Reached Top 50 in Doubles. He has 6 career Doubles titles. Brent attended Texas A&M University from 1986-87, capturing the Southwest Conference No. 4 singles title. During his Doubles career he reached the quarterfinals of 2 Grand Slams: Wimbledon & the US Open.
This year the Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational will be held from December 2nd to the 5th, and the public always have the opportunity to attend the Pro Exhibition for exciting tennis action with visiting pros. The Exhibition will be held on Saturday, December 4th at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, National Tennis Centre at 3pm.
The format for the tournament includes a Pro/Am doubles tournament for Platinum sponsors, a Pro Exhibition match and an exciting opportunity for our top Bahamian juniors to interact on court with the visiting professionals at the Pro Exhibition.
Sponsors include: Atlantis Resort & Casino, MDC Partners, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Private Bank & Trust; Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd; Serenity Point, Abaco; The Balmoral; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism; American Airlines; Everkey Global Fund, Mark Holowesko, Odyssey Aviation, The Bahamas Weekly, and The Ministry of Youth Sports & Culture.
Tickets are now on sale at the National Tennis Centre, Atlantis Tennis Centre, Village Squash Club, H.G.Christie Ltd. and Lyford Cay School or telephone 242-359-2542.
