Johnson, Paes Hit The Basketball Court; Rotterdam Rocks With Fans

Feb162017

It hasn’t all been about tennis for players this week. ATPWorldTour.com provides a recap of the highlights.

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AMN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among the stars to treat fans to autograph signings.

Fernando Verdasco took a ride around Rotterdam with Peugeot. Watch

Robin Haase was in the hot seat at a Q&A with young fans on kids’ day.

Lukasz Kubot, Marcelo Melo, Mate Pavic and Alexander Peya participated in a Pro-Am.

Memphis Open – Memphis, Tennessee

Robert Lindstedt, Michael Venus, Brian Baker, David O’Hare and Joe Salisbury made a memorable visit to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital headquarters in downtown Memphis. Read

“Worries you have or problems you think you have are nothing compared to what you see these families and kids going through,” Venus said. “These kids are obviously fighting some pretty huge things here. They’re walking around and they’ve got a smile on their face. It’s pretty special.”

Ivo Karlovic enjoyed an NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans and met the league’s oldest player, Vince Carter (age 40). The two professional athletes exchanged pleasantries and traded equipment on the court: Carter gave Karlovic a pair of autographed shoes, size 16.5; Karlovic gave Carter an autographed tennis racquet. Steve Johnson, Leander Paes and Darian King were also in attendance at the game. Read

King paid respect to “The King” by visiting Graceland. The 24 year old, who has made Barbados tennis history in Memphis, visited Elvis Presley’s former residence. Read

Sam Querrey and Johnson played table tennis during a visit to the ServiceMasters offices.

The #NextGenATP stars were in full force in Memphis, with Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe visiting with fans in suites and Jared Donaldson assisting at the tournament draw ceremony.

Salisbury and O’Hare participated in kids’ day, while Oliver Marach was the lucky player to hang out with kids at a School Field Trip Program.

Argentina Open – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer took to a different court location ahead of the tournament. The duo had a hit on Puente de la Mujer, a rotating footbridge in the commercial district of Buenos Aires. Read

“It’s a really beautiful place here and [it’s] really fun to have some time with David,” said top seed Nishikori. “I hope I can stay healthy here this week and hope I can enjoy this week.”