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AEGON International Serves Up Record Year for Tennis in Eastbourne The AEGON International has slammed all previous records for tennis in Eastbourne with last week�s brand new combined championships bringing record ticket sales, top players and glorious sunshine. The new combined men and women�s event saw the best year ever for tennis at Devonshire Park with more than 36,900 spectators flocking to watch some of the world�s best tennis stars in the prestigious grass court tournament. The week long championships saw the biggest crowd ever on finals day with nearly 7,000 watching as Caroline Wozniacki triumphed in the women�s event while Dmitry Tursunov took the men�s title. Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Susan Morris said �Last week was a spectacular week for tennis in Eastbourne topping all previous records. We were very excited to have this first class event take place at Devonshire Park with the top cream of tennis stars battling it out in the town. With fantastic weather all week too, Eastbourne was definitely the place to be with every spectator making the most of the relaxed, garden party atmosphere.� The brand new championships lived up to expectations in Eastbourne, as the men�s event previously held in Nottingham made a real impact on the south coast with hotels packed with visitors keen to witness the combined event. Finals day also brought victories for Akgul Amanmuradova and Ai Sugiyama in the women�s doubles and Marcin Matkowski & Mariusz Fyrstenberg in the men�s. And with some of the world�s highest ranked players making early exits at the beginning of the week, it was a tournament full of surprises in Eastbourne. Igor Andreev, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic all bowed out of the AEGON International in the first round on Tuesday, while former world no.1 Ana Ivanovic lost in the first round on Monday. With the tournament enjoying some of its best weather yet, Eastbourne Borough Council are looking forward to continuing working with the LTA on the 2010 AEGON International and breaking even more records next year. The Devonshire Park turf is now being prepped ready for the AEGON Summer County Cup from 20-24 July, with tennis events set to continue all summer in Eastbourne. Next year�s AEGON International has provisionally been confirmed to take place from 12-19 June 2010. |
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