AEGON replaces BlackRock as Masters sponsor

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:45

As Reginald Dwight will tell you, you’re nothing in life without a good name change along the way.

And so, while it will take some getting used to, the BlackRock Masters, the veteran tennis event staged each December at the Royal Albert Hall, London, has been rebranded the AEGON Masters Tennis.

The event, which has featured an array of Wimbledon champions in its 12-year history, including Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras, has sealed a new sponsorship deal with the lead partner of British Tennis, which this year sponsored the grass-court season events in Edgbaston, Eastbourne, Nottingham and Queen’s Club for the first time.

The five-year deal means AEGON, already the lead partner for British Tennis, will sponsor the event at the Royal Albert Hall until at least 2013.

Confirmed senior players for this year’s event include Wimbledon champions Goran Ivanisevic and Stefan Edberg and, for the first time, Aussie two-time Wimbledon finalist Patrick Rafter.

British tennis fans will not have forgotten it was Ivanisevic who put a stop to Tim Henman’s chance to win Wimbledon in 2001 before beating Pat Rafter in the final.

To add extra spice, Greg Rusedski, who played the event for the first time last year and who lost in the 1997 US Open final to Rafter, may do so again in 2009.

“The Masters celebrates the greatest champions of the sport and is a natural next step for us,” AEGON UK director of marketing Steve Clode said. “Already this year our tennis activity has reinforced our brand credentials, and the Aegon Masters Tennis will enable us to continue this success.”

The AEGON Masters Tennis takes place from December 1-6. Tickets are available for purchase from the box office – phone +44 (0) 208 233 5882 or click here.

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