Miami Masters

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The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held at Key Biscayne, in Miami, Florida. The event's current sponsored name is the Sony Ericsson Open.

The event is part of the ATP Masters Series on the men's tour and is a Tier 1 event on the women's tour. The tournament is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The event is currently held in March each year.

The tournament is widely regarded as the most prestigious on the ATP and WTA tours, and was given the nickname "Fifth Grand Slam". Its importance is reflected by the WTA's decision to designate it a mandatory event, like the 4 Grand Slam tournaments.

The event was initially known as the Lipton International Players Championships. In 2000 there was a change of title sponsor and the event was renamed the Ericsson Open. In 2002, the event became known as the NASDAQ-100 Open. In 2007, the tournament will be renamed the Sony Ericsson Open in a deal where the company will pay $20 million over the next four years.

1 History
2 Event characteristics
3 Past results
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] History

The tournament was founded by former player Butch Buchholz. His original aim was to make the event the first major tournament of the year (the Australian Open was held in December at that time), and he dubbed it the "Winter Wimbledon". Buchholz approached the ATP and the WTA and offered to provide the prize-money and give them a percentage of the ticket sales and worldwide television rights in return for the right to run the tournament for 15 years. The two associations agreed.

The first tournament was held in February of 1985 at Laver's International Tennis Resort at Delray Beach, Florida. Buchholz brought in Alan Mills, the tournament referee at Wimbledon, as the head referee; and Ted Tinling, a well-known tennis fashion designer since the 1920s, as the director of protocol. The prize money of US$1.8 million was surpassed only by Wimbledon and the US Open at the time. (The event's prize-money has since grown to over US$6 million.)

In 1986, the tournament relocated to Boca Raton. It moved to its permanent home at Key Biscayne in 1987.

[edit] Event characteristics

Besides the four Grand Slam championships, the Miami Masters one of the few events on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours where the main singles draw (for both the men and the women) involves more than 64 players, and where main draw play extends beyond one week. 96 men and 96 women compete in the singles competition, and 32 teams compete in each of the doubles competitions. The event lasts for 12 days.

Given its size, history, and the fact that it is a combined event involving both men and women, some people consider the Miami Masters to be the sixth most prestigious event on the ATP and WTA tours – after the four Grand Slams and the Tennis Masters Cup / WTA Tour Championships.

In 2006, the tournament became the first event in the United States to utilize instant replay to allow players to challenge close line calls. Players were be allowed two challenges per set, with an additional challenge allowed for tiebreaks.

[edit] Past results

[edit] Men’s Singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score in final
2006	Roger Federer	Ivan Ljubičić	7-6, 7-6, 7-6
2005	Roger Federer	Rafael Nadal	2-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1
2004	Andy Roddick	Guillermo Coria	6-7, 6-3, 6-1 (retired)
2003	Andre Agassi	Carlos Moyà	6-3, 6-3
2002	Andre Agassi	Roger Federer	6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2001	Andre Agassi	Jan-Michael Gambill	7-6, 6-1, 6-0
2000	Pete Sampras	Gustavo Kuerten	6-1, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6
1999	Richard Krajicek	Sebastien Grosjean	4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5
1998	Marcelo Ríos	Andre Agassi	7-5, 6-3, 6-4
1997	Thomas Muster	Sergi Bruguera	7-6, 6-3, 6-1
1996	Andre Agassi	Goran Ivanišević	3-0 (retired)
1995	Andre Agassi	Pete Sampras	3-6, 6-2, 7-6
1994	Pete Sampras	Andre Agassi	5-7, 6-3, 6-3
1993	Pete Sampras	MaliVai Washington	6-3, 6-2
1992	Michael Chang	Alberto Mancini	7-5, 7-5
1991	Jim Courier	David Wheaton	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
1990	Andre Agassi	Stefan Edberg	6-1, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
1989	Ivan Lendl	Thomas Muster	w/o (injury)
1988	Mats Wilander	Jimmy Connors	6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
1987	Miloslav Mečíř	Ivan Lendl	7-5, 6-2, 7-5
1986	Ivan Lendl	Mats Wilander	3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4
1985	Tim Mayotte	Scott Davis	4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

[edit] Women’s Singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score in final
2006	Svetlana Kuznetsova	Maria Sharapova	6-4, 6-3
2005	Kim Clijsters	Maria Sharapova	6-3, 7-5
2004	Serena Williams	Elena Dementieva	6-1, 6-1
2003	Serena Williams	Jennifer Capriati	4-6, 6-4, 6-1
2002	Serena Williams	Jennifer Capriati	7-5, 7-6
2001	Venus Williams	Jennifer Capriati	4-6, 6-1, 7-6
2000	Martina Hingis	Lindsay Davenport	6-3, 6-2
1999	Venus Williams	Serena Williams	6-1, 4-6, 6-4
1998	Venus Williams	Anna Kournikova	2-6, 6-4, 6-1
1997	Martina Hingis	Monica Seles	6-2, 6-1
1996	Steffi Graf	Chanda Rubin	6-1, 6-3
1995	Steffi Graf	Kimiko Date	6-1, 6-4
1994	Steffi Graf	Natasha Zvereva	4-6, 6-1, 6-2
1993	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario	Steffi Graf	6-4, 3-6, 6-3
1992	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario	Gabriela Sabatini	6-1, 6-4
1991	Monica Seles	Gabriela Sabatini	6-3, 7-5
1990	Monica Seles	Judith Wiesner	6-1, 6-2
1989	Gabriela Sabatini	Chris Evert	6-1, 4-6, 6-2
1988	Steffi Graf	Chris Evert	6-4, 6-4
1987	Steffi Graf	Chris Evert	6-1, 6-2
1986	Chris Evert	Steffi Graf	6-4, 6-2
1985	Martina Navratilova	Chris Evert	6-2, 6-4

[edit] Doubles champions

Year	Men’s Doubles champions	Women’s Doubles champions
2006	Jonas Björkman / Max Mirnyi	Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur
2005	Jonas Björkman / Max Mirnyi	Svetlana Kuznetsova / Alicia Molik
2004	Wayne Black / Kevin Ullyett	Nadia Petrova / Meghann Shaughnessy
2003	Roger Federer / Max Mirnyi	Magdalena Maleeva / Liezel Huber
2002	Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor	Rennae Stubbs / Lisa Raymond
2001	Jiří Novák / David Rikl	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Nathalie Tauziat
2000	Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde	Julie Halard-Decugis / Ai Sugiyama
1999	Wayne Black / Sandon Stolle	Martina Hingis / Jana Novotna
1998	Ellis Ferriera / Rick Leach	Martina Hingis / Jana Novotna
1997	Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Natasha Zvereva
1996	Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde	Jana Novotna / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1995	Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde	Jana Novotna / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
1994	Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis	Gigi Fernandez / Natasha Zvereva
1993	Richard Krajicek / Jan Siemerink	Larisa Neiland / Jana Novotna
1992	Ken Flach / Todd Witsken	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario / Larisa Neiland
1991	Wayne Ferreira / Piet Norval	Mary Joe Fernandez / Zina Garrison
1990	Rick Leach / Jim Pugh	Jana Novotna / Helena Sukova
1989	Jakob Hlasek / Anders Jarryd	Jana Novotna / Helena Sukova
1988	John Fitzgerald / Anders Järryd	Steffi Graf / Gabriela Sabatini
1987	Paul Annacone / Christo Van Rensburg	Martina Navratilova / Pam Shriver
1986	Brad Gilbert / Vincent Van Patten	Pam Shriver / Helena Sukova
1985	Paul Annacone / Christo Van Rensburg	Gigi Fernandez / Martina Navratilova

A mixed doubles competition was also held at the inaugural tournament in 1985, and was won by Heinz Günthardt & Martina Navratilova.

[edit] Trivia

The men's final has been abonded three times since the tournament's inception.
- In 1989, Thomas Muster was hit by a drunk driver the night before the final, which put him in a wheelchair for months. He was able to win the championship eight years later.
- In 1996, Goran Ivanišević retired from the match early with a stiff neck.
- In 2004, Guillermo Coria retired after three sets due to back pain and an inability to move properly. The problem later turned out to be gall stones.