The best of the current tennis playing generation will face a blast from the past as next month’s Indian Wells Masters replicates a charity match that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars last month at the Australian Open.
New Indian Wells owner, software billionaire Larry Ellison, said his event will duplicate the successful charity effort, Hit for Haiti, which was organised by Roger Federer for the day before last month’s Melbourne match.
The Californian version, set for March 12, will feature 44 Grand Slam titles on the same court with Federer and Pete Sampras playing Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi.
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The match is expected to raise a minimum of 1 million dollars for earthquake relief and will be broadcast live on television “When I saw the first Hit for Haiti event in Australia, I was very moved by the players coming together, on the eve of an important tournament, for such a worthy cause,” said Ellison, the yacht racer whose Oracle team just won the America’s Cup over Swiss Alinghi.
“I wanted to bring together an exceptional group of players, with an unprecedented amount of Grand Slam titles. Our goal is to leave a memorable impression on fans, while raising a substantial amount of money that will directly impact the needs of people in Haiti.