New Blood Joins Force in Rise of Legends 2011 – Watch Lu Takes on Youzhny in the first match

Nov. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Mikhail Youzhny from Moscow Russia, 28 years old, was once ATP ranked top no.8 in 2008 and currently no.10 in the world. Youzhny has performed especially well in the grand slams, displaying his strong resilience in character. He reached the semi-finals in the U.S. Open in 2006, and quarter-finals in the Australian Open in 2008. Earlier this year, he reached quarter-finals in the French Open, followed by semi-finals into the U.S. Open again! Since 2002, he has already acquired 7 ATP champions in Men’s Singles.
Youzhny is not someone to be overlooked in the current tennis scene. His match record with current champion Rafael Nadal is 4 wins vs. 8 losses; record with current world no.3 Novak Djokovic is 3 wins vs. 4 losses. No doubt, the level of competition he offers to Lu is going to be intense.
2008 was the year in which Youzhny drew plenty of media attention. In Sony Ericsson Open held in Miami, Youzhny made an unforced error hitting a backhand into the net. In un-suppressible anger to himself, he swung the racket against his head three times and blood started streaming down his forehead immediately. The video was released on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi-CgSO9Evw&feature=youtu.be) with over half a million hits. It was a true display of character on the court and in fact somewhat reminiscent of another Russia star Marat Safin, who is also coming to the event Rise of Legends 2011. Just imagine the intensity that is going to spark off in the matches!


Jeff Hsu, CEO of Integration Sports which has been the chief force in materializing this dream event, said that although the original match-up was already worth the excitement and anticipation as it was, in order to respond to the sincere fans and repay everyone’s full support, the corporate went through very serious considerations and finally decided to add current top 10 player Mikhail Youzhny into the exhibition. Although Youzhny needs shortly appear in following Australian Open tournament, he was very touched by the sincerity of organizer for inviting him. Furthermore, the match between Lu and Youzhny may not merely be an exhibition game but in fact a prelude for what is to come in the Australian Open. For the fans in Taiwan, this will be an unbelievable chance equivalent of watching a preview of Yen-hsun Lu and Mikhail Youzhny’s match in the Australian Open. Imagine, a Grand Slam match right here on Taiwan’s soil!
Lu and Youzhny had only met once in each other’s careers, which was in the second round of 2007 Australian Open. Lu was at the early climb of his career, not yet ready for Youzhny and lost by straight sets 5-7, 4-6, 4-6. However, Lu had worked hard since and proven his worth this year by entering world top 40. The match between these two will certainly take the intensity to another level and cause lots of sparks on the court for fans in Taiwan.
The updated exhibition activity will be: first match is one set singles match between Yen-hsun Lu and Mikhail Youzhny; second match is best of 3 singles match between Andre Agassi and Marat Safin; third match is one set doubles match between Andre Agassi, Marat Safin, Yen-hsun Lu, and Jimmy Wang. Mind you that the purchase of one single ticket is entitled to enjoy the entire exhibition (all 3 matches), not just one of the matches. The exhibition will be held in Taipei Arena on Jan.6th and in Kaohsiung Arena on Jan.8th. For further game and ticketing information, please visit (http://www.riseoflegends2011.com/en/index.php) or dial +886-2-2707-8326 directly to book your tickets now!

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About Integration Sports: ISports is currently the most active tennis marketing company in Taiwan. Our achievements include successfully hosting 2007 ATP Challenger in Taiwan, the highest level of professional tennis tournaments in Taiwan since 1992, and we are expecting to host more major tennis events following Rise of Legends. Your interest in our company will help to introduce the tennis scene as well as the commercial potential in Taiwan to parties interested in this market.