American tennis greats Pete Sampras and James Blake will be in the PMAC on Dec. 14 to play an exhibition match to benefit non-profit organizations aiding those devastated by hurricanes Gustav and Ike.The Duel under the Oaks will begin with a children’s clinic at 11 a.m., followed by a wheelchair exhibition match at 1 p.m. before the best-of-three match between Sampras and Blake.The Duel under the Oaks made its debut at the University in 2006 when Sampras, who retired from professional tennis in 2002, played a match against fellow American Todd Martin to raise money for LSU Medical Center students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.LSU women’s tennis coach Tony Minnis said it will be attractive to have Sampras, who holds the record for most Grand Slam singles tournament wins with 14, face Blake, who has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the world.”We thought it would be really appealing to have an ex-player against a current player,” Minnis said.The Pennington Family Foundation is the event’s chief sponsor, and students can purchase tickets for just $10. Coordinator Morgan David said about 3,000 tickets have been sold so far, and the event will definitely be enjoyable for students.”We thought it would be fun to have a young player who is on tour instead of having Todd Martin again,” David said. “James Blake is such a great guy, very philanthropic, and he seemed like a great fit for the event.”Blake is ranked No. 10 in the world, and he was featured on People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive list. He was out of tennis from 2004-2006 when he broke his neck, lost his father to stomach cancer and developed shingles that paralyzed half his face.But Blake overcame the odds and emerged as the first black tennis player since Arthur Ashe to be ranked in the top 10.”People know Sampras, but a lot of people aren’t too familiar with Blake, so we’re trying to pump him up a little bit,” Minnis said. “I don’t think people understand what a high level of tennis he plays. He’s capable on any given day of beating anybody.”LSU men’s assistant coach Danny Bryan said the event has been a great experience for both kids and the LSU tennis teams in past years.”Last time we had a bunch of kids, and they had stations set up around the court where the kids would rotate around,” Bryan said. “At the end they let everyone hit with Sampras and Martin. We each took turns hitting with them for like five minutes, which was really cool.”During the children’s clinic this year, David said kids will learn tennis tips from the LSU men’s and women’s tennis teams, pros around Baton Rouge and two UCLA coaches, including Sampras’ sister, Stella. Sampras and Blake will also sign autographs.The wheelchair tennis match will be between Stephen Welch and Jon Rydberg, both of whom competed in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Welch has already won four Paralympic medals, and Rydberg is No. 13 in the world on the men’s tour.
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