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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Tuesday, January 23 |
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| Deal said to be the richest in men's tennis Reuters | |||
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian teen tennis star Lleyton Hewitt
signed the richest sponsorship deal in men's tennis to
wear only Nike tennis gear for five years, The Age newspaper
said Monday.
The newspaper said industry sources estimated the deal to
be worth as much as $15 million, but Hewitt's management firm,
Octagon, declined to comment on the size of the package with
the sportswear company.
Hewitt, seeded seventh at the Australian Open which started
Monday, is among the favorites to win the season's first
Grand Slam event after taking the Sydney International title Saturday.
Nike has sponsored Hewitt since he burst on the scene two
years ago and considers him a potential top-ranked player in the world.
"If you combine his obvious tennis talent with his
personality -- he's got a personality which we think excites
people -- he's the complete package," The Age quoted Nike legal
relations director, John Slusher, as saying.
"He's also young to boot," he said.
Hewitt, who played a key role in Australia's 2000 Davis Cup
victory, last year was the first teenager to win four titles in
a season since Pete Sampras 10 years before.
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ALSO SEE Sampras, Davenport, Safin survive Aussie openers Crowd enjoys Davenport beating ex-Aussie Dokic Australian Open results Agassi says he's done with Davis Cup for foreseeable future Courts at Melbourne Park already under scrutiny | |
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