Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Hit for Haiti

Touched by Roger Federer's Haiti relief fundraiser at the Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open owner Larry Ellison was moved to action.


The founder and CEO of software giant Oracle recruited Federer, rival Rafael Nadal and retired greats Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras to play in a “Hit for Haiti” match March 12 at the BNP Paribas Open, and put up a $1 million of his own money for the event.

The Indian Wells version will pit Federer and Sampras against Agassi and Nadal in a 7 p.m. doubles match that will be televised on The Tennis Channel.

“It was Larry Ellison's idea. He saw what happened in Australia and he wanted to duplicate it,” said Raymond Moore, president of PM Sports.
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“All Charlie (Pasarell, the tournament chairman) and I did was follow his instructions. ‘I want these guys. If we get them, I'm going to put up a lot of money' because he wants to see the match.”

Moore said the Australian Open event raised $659,000, with $159,000 coming from the $10 ticket. The remaining $500,000 came from donations from the ATP, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, the ITF and the Australian tennis federation.

Moore said Ellison, who Forbes magazine ranked as the fourth-richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $22.5 billion, will put up the $1 million for the match and the regular ticket sales for the March 12 evening session will go to Haiti relief.

The exhibition will be followed by a regularly scheduled match, and will be preceded by the tournament's annual “Salute to Heroes.”

Tickets are available at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden box office or on the tournament's Web site at www.bnpparibasopen.org.

Donations can be made by texting during the match. American Red Cross volunteers will be at the Tennis Garden to accept donations as well.

“Aside from Larry's million bucks, who knows how much we will raise, but it's going to be significant. It's huge,” Moore said.

Moore said all four players agreed to the second Hit for Haiti during the second week of the Australian Open.

“To bring all those great superstars, those legends, because they're legends already, it's unbelievable,” Pasarell said. “Friday night is going to be a special night here.”

vont se faire défoncer les joueuses de fond de court

On s'en fout, on aura Shakira avec nous

Pourquoi ils mettent pas Fed et Agassi ensemble plutôt ?
Les deux GOAT dans la même équipe je trouve ça un peu déséquilibré

Agassi est nettement plus beau que Sampras da gorilla.