The Delray Beach Open ready to host tennis legends

Photo credit: Milos Raonic/ATP world tour

South Florida prepares to host one of the most seek tournaments for tennis lovers: The Delray Beach Open. This is, according to the official page organizing the event,  the world’s only 10-day tennis event consisting of an ATP Champions Tours event (set to take place Feb. 17 – 19, 2017), and an ATP World Tour event (Feb. 20 – 26, 2017). The Delray Beach Open is televised in the U.S. and 120-plus countries internationally.

The tournament, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, welcomes more than 50,000 spectators to enjoy the tennis plus live music and artisans, on-site dining and drinking, interactive exhibits, shopping and 10+ hospitality and special events.

Delray Beach Open’s ATP World Tour is one of only 11 ATP events in the U.S. and consists of single-elimination singles and doubles events featuring many of the top-ranked men’s professionals in the world. The ATP Champions Tour event features legends of the game in a U.S. vs International team format. Delray Beach Open features the only ATP Champions Tour event in the United States.

Featured players include:

Milos Raonic, who is currently No. 4 in the world, has won eight ATP titles in 19 finals. This season his accomplishments include reaching the Wimbledon final in July 2016 against Andy Murray, reaching this year’s Australian Open semifinal, winning the Brisbane tournament and playing in the Indian Wells and London finals.

Juan Martin del Potro won the 2011 Delray Beach Open title and reached the semifinals in 2016. CAREER: A quarterfinalist at this year’s US Open, del Potro moved back into the Top 100 (No. 64) for the first time in two years—he began the year ranked No.1045. The 2009 US Open champion was world No. 5 twice in his career (2009 & 2013) and has won 18 ATP World Tour titles.

Ivo Karlovic is Delray Beach Open’s 2015 champion and the two-time finalist is 11-7 in nine appearances. He set a tournament-record of 91 aces in winning the 2015 title, including 13 in the final. He has eight careers ATP World Tour titles, and led the 2005 Croatian Davis Cup team to the world title. He struck one of the fastest serves of all time, a 156- mile missile that came in a Davis Cup tie in 2011.

Bryan Brothers (twins Bob and Mike) are four-time Delray Beach Open winners (2009, 2010, 2014 & 2015) and they will be looking to build on their record 112 ATP tournament wins, and reaching their 1,000th career match wins – a feat accomplished only in singles by ATP legends Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl.

Jack Sock who last appeared in Delray Beach in 2014, is 1-2 in two singles appearances. In 2013, he won the 2013 doubles title with James Blake. Sock reached the Top 25 for the first time in his career this year after reaching a pair of ATP World Tour finals and the fourth round of the US Open, where he upset world No. 9 Marin Cilic in a third-round tussle. He won his first career ATP singles title in 2015 in Houston and led the US Davis Cup team to a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan. The 23-year-old was the only tennis player to medal twice in the Rio Olympics, winning gold with Betthany Mattek-Sands in mixed doubles and a bronze in doubles with Steve Johnson.

IF YOU GO

WHEN: Friday, February 17 – Sunday, February 26, 2017

WHERE: The Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center, in Delray Beach, Florida. Delray Beach, known as the “Village on the Sea,” has been named “America’s Most Fun Small Town” by USA Today/Rand McNally. It is located in Palm Beach County, just miles from both Palm Beach International Airport and Fort Lauderdale International Airport. The Tennis Center is located on bustling Atlantic Avenue, less than a mile from the beach, lined with cafes, fine dining establishments, art galleries and boutiques.

DETAILS: Ticket packages, travel packages, and sponsorships can be found at Delray Beach Open.