Andy Murray is coming to Barbados.
The reigning Wimbledon champion and two-time Grand Slam winner, along with former US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro, is set to be part of a star-studded line-up at the Tennis Dream Cup in November.
The event is reported to be replacing the critically-acclaimed Tennis Pon de Rock festival which featured the likes of the Williams sisters Serena and Venus, women’s No.2 Victoria Azarenka and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
World No.4 and French Open finalist David Ferrer is also linked with the event that will include another unnamed men’s top ten player.
Reports of the Dream Cup have been swirling as ESPN has been releasing teasers of the event during their broadcast of the current US Open.
A local website, whatsoninbarbados.com, then posted details of the festival, which will have the four players contest a grand prize of over US$500 000 from November 28 to 30 at the three different venues including the Wildey Gymnasium.
An inside source confirmed to NATIONSPORT yesterday that both Murray and del Potro – who was originally supposed to appear in Barbados three years ago – will be participating in the Dream Cup while revealing no further details.
It marks the return of high-level tennis to Barbados, which last saw top professional players on the island when Serena, Azarenka, Gael Monfils and John Isner appeared at the last Tennis Pon de Rock festival two years ago.
Then, the event was seemingly in good standing as ESPN analyst Robbie Earle said the festival had the potential to attract some of the game’s best men’s players.
However, the 2012 edition had to be abandoned as organizers tried to transform the exhibition series into a competitive challenge event with the hopes of entering into a big partnership with ESPN and attracting bigger names by awarding prize money.
If it comes off, the Dream Cup will feature one of the game’s biggest drawing cards in Murray, who finally made his Grand Slam breakthrough by winning last year’s US Open title against world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
But the Scot’s crowning achievement came just last July when Murray got the better of Djokovic again to win Wimbledon and end Britain’s 76-year-old men’s title drought.
Once ranked as high as No.4, del Potro also made his quantum leap at Flushing Meadows by beating Roger Federer for the 2009 US Open crown, but was forced to miss the 2011 Tennis Pon de Rock festival due to injury.
Murray has ties to Barbados after promoting road tennis with former champ Sylvan “Lama” Barnett via an Adidas-sponsored Internet video.
According to whatsoninbarbados.com, the Tennis Dream Cup will be broadcast live on ESPN International.
