HEINEKEN OPEN IN SINGAPORE
AND US OPEN IN NEW YORK
Heineken more
committed than ever
to tennis
At the end of September,
Singapore hosted the first
Heineken Open. Heineken
is the main sponsor.
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The tournament is part of the ATP
Tour, which means that players can
improve their ATP ranking. It came
as no surprise that Michael Chang in
particular pulled in the crowds. The
American is extremely popular
across Asia. Among the other compe
titors were Wimbledon winner
Richard Krajicek; Mats Wilander who
once ranked No. 1 in the world;
Andrei Olhovsky; hard-hitting Greg
Rusedski; Byron Black; famous
Australian doubles players Wood-
bridge and Woodforde; and Dutch
top players Haarhuis and Schalken.
Heineken will sponsor the Singapore
tournament for at least three years.
The tournament was played at
the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The
prize money of $414,500 made it one
of Asia's biggest tournaments at one
stroke.
US OPEN
One month earlier, the US Open
was played at Flushing Meadows.
Michael Chang took centre stage and
reached the final, but was summari
ly dismissed by Pete Sampras in
straight sets.
This time around, the Heineken
logo was displayed much more pro
minently, which boosted brand
exposure. This is one result of a new
sponsoring contract concluded
between Heineken and the United
States Tennis Association (USTA).
Through to the year 2000, Heineken
may call itself the Corporate
Champion of the USTA and will re
ceive more brand exposure during
the US Open, to mention just two
advantages.
Taking full advantage of the
sponsorship, Heineken USA organi
sed hospitality activities and estab
lished a new prize, the Heineken Star
Award, which was presented to Pete
Sampras. He outperformed the other
players in showing perseverance and
