Sampras, Federer to Face Off at Challenge of the Champions

[TENNIS] The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, a Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) property, announced yesterday that it will play host to a historic match between two of the greatest tennis players of all time - Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Current World No. 1 Federer will take on former No.1 Sampras in what is set to be one of the most anticipated events in world tennis, at The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown, to be played on Saturday November 24, at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel's stunning new 15,000 seat event center.

"We are delighted to bring to Macao what has to be one of the most thrilling match-ups in international tennis," said William P. Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "The tennis world has always compared and contrasted these two greats of the game since Pete Sampras retired in 2002. We now have the prospect of an absolutely classic game between two phenomenal sportsmen."

"This is an exciting and unique event and we are proud to be establishing an enviable reputation for bringing world class sport and entertainment to Macao," continued Weidner.

"With our Manchester United fixture in July, our NBA China Games 2007 games featuring the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers in October and now the Sampras v Federer Showdown, we are truly living up to our promise to make The Venetian Macao the pre-eminent destination for sports and entertainment events, to complement our incredible combination of shopping, dining, leisure and recreation."

Federer beat Sampras on the only occasion they have previously played - in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001. But Sampras holds the most Grand Slam Titles (14) and the most Wimbledon Titles (7). He also holds the record for the most number of weeks as world No 1, a staggering 286 weeks. Since Sampras' retirement from competitive tennis Roger Federer reigns supreme, and is only matched with Rafael Nadal among his peers.

Nick Freyer, senior vice president, IMG Tennis, Asia, revealed how this Tennis Showdown first became a reality. "Roger contacted Pete in Los Angeles, and Pete invited him to play at his house.  They hit a few balls, played some points then some sets. The scores were close and Pete was thrilled with the way he played. From this game the idea of a Tennis Showdown was born."

Said Pete Sampras of the recent meeting, the first time both players have been together on a tennis court since Wimbledon: "I was very happy that I held my own. It was great to play Roger and it was terrific fun." For Federer it was also a memorable occasion: "The game was close and Pete was playing great tennis, but not good enough to beat me. I won't be telling you the score though!"

Federer continued, "The tennis was so good that we felt it was a pity not to share the shots, energy, and excitement with the world one more time. We are both delighted to be visiting Asia and Macao and putting on a great game for our many fans in the region."

At a press conference in Hong Kong yesterday, Mr. Weidner was joined in a live call by Pete Sampras to announce details of the Macao match. The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown will be the most sought after tennis event of 2007, and IMG is expecting to sell over 10,000 tickets, with full pricing details to be announced at a later date. The game is set to attract the biggest audience ever for a tennis match in Macao, Hong Kong and Southern China, and one of the largest ever in Asia.

Sampras retired from professional tennis five years ago after beating Andre Agassi to win the 2002 US Open and capture a record 14 Grand Slam titles. During his career, Sampras won 64 Singles Titles (including 14 Grand Slam Titles). He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years, from 1993 through 1998.

He resumed training earlier this year and since his return, remains undefeated in official tournament play and is on an eight match winning run with back-to-back title wins at Champions tournaments in Boston and in his native Greece.

Roger Federer is currently the No. 1 ranked player in the world, and many experts and his own peers believe he may prove to be the greatest player in history.  He has won 10 Grand Slam Titles in thirty-one appearances, 3 Tennis Masters Cup Titles and 13 ATP Masters Series Titles.

In 2004, the Swiss became the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three of four Grand Slam Singles Titles in the same year. In 2006, he repeated this feat and became the first man in the open era to win at least ten singles tournaments in three consecutive years.

He is also the only player to have won both Wimbledon and U.S. Open in three consecutive years (2004-2006). In 2007, when Federer won his third Australian Open Title, he became the only male player to have won three separate Grand Slams three times. There has been considerable speculation about Federer possibly becoming in 2007 the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year.  Federer already has won the first Grand Slam Title of this year, the Australian Open.

Federer has been ranked No.1 in the world since February 2, 2004 and holds the all-time record for most consecutive weeks as the top-ranked male player. On April 2, 2007 he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record third consecutive time. Just this month he was named as one of Time Magazine's top 100 most influential people of 2007 and this past Sunday, Roger Federer again made tennis history when he defeated Rafael Nadal at the Hamburg Masters to end Nadal's record 81 match winning streak on clay.

The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown is the grand finale of a three-leg Sampras v Federer Asia exhibition match tour, which includes Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 22 and a match on November 20 at a third location yet to be announced.

The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel will be one of the largest hotels in Asia and will be Macao's first true mega-resort. It will feature 3,000 all-suite rooms, 1.2 million-square feet of meeting, convention and exhibition space, world-class entertainment in a 15,000-seat arena and an impressive array of dining, shopping and recreation options.

Agencies