The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Gavrilova returning to defend her crown
NEW HAVEN — With the return of its defending champion, the Connecticut Open just got a little more spunky.
Daria Gavrilova, who won last year’s event with a marathon three-set victory over Dominka Cibulkova, will return to defend her crown Aug. 17-25 at the Connecticut Tennis Center.
“She has a very spunky, spirited personality,” tournament director Anne Worcester noted. “She’ a a lot of fun, a huge ‘foodie’ — loves, loves, loves New Haven restaurants. She’s excited to come back and defend her title.”
The tournament also announced Tuesday that world No. 13 Julia Goerges of Germany will make her debut appearance this year’s event. Worcester said she’s been trying for the past five years to land Goerges, who has battled injury problems in recent years.
“I like how she fought back from injury and never gave up,” Worcester said. “She’s a very fan-friendly player. When she plays a tournament, she goes above and beyond. She’s a really nice person. And I like the way she plays.”
Gavrilova and Goerges join a player field that will also include world No. 8 and two-time Wimbledon champions Petra Kvitova. More player announcements will be coming in the next several weeks, according to Worcester.
The tournament also announced the addition of two new cornerstone partnerships with Connecticut Magazine, a publication of Hearst Connecticut Media, and Avangrid, the parent company of United Illuminating.
Hearst will be the tournament’s official media sponsor.
“There are very few bigger names than Hearst Corporation,” Worcester said. “It’s a media giant. And since the acquisition of the New Haven Register, I think Hearst Connecticut Media owns 20 daily and weekly newspapers in Connecticut. So our partnership with Hearst — in addition to revenue — is a significant amount of advertising and promotion, which will help us put more fannies in the seats.”
Gavrilova, currently ranked No. 25 in the world, hasn’t won since last year’s nearly three-hour victory over Cibulkova, which many observers rated one of the best tennis matches of the year. Worcester approached Gavrilova about returning at the Miami Open in March, and said the Russian native and Australian citizen was eager to come back.
“This continues to be a very sweet, special event for her,” Worcester noted.
She noted Gavrilova’s effervescent personality and told a story from last year, when the tourney winner was promised a glamour shot afterwards. Gavrilova had just finished her long match and still had media responsibilities — not to mention icing down. It was about 6 p.m., the sun was setting, and Worcester asked is she wanted to skip the glamour shot.
“No way!” Gavrilova responded. “I brought my black dress and my Valentinos. I am NOT missing the glamour shot!”
She wound up taking a beautiful, iconic photo at the Yale Bowl, with the sun setting in the background.
“Every time I see her,” Worcester said, “she’s just fun.”
Local tennis fans will get to see her in a couple of months.
LOB SHOTS: Worcester mentioned she’s working hard to get Daria Kasatkina, one of Gavrilova’s closest friends, to join the field.
Johanna Konta and young American Danielle Collins are also near the top of Worcester’s wish list.
⏩ Hearst and Avangrid join longtime cornerstone sponsors Yale University and Yale-New Haven Health.
“Hearst prides itself on supporting organizations that benefit the communities served by its news-gathering operations,” said Paul Barbetta, president and group publisher of Hearst Connecticut Media. “We’re honored by the affiliation with the Connecticut Open and pleased we’ll be able to showcase tournament coverage in Connecticut Magazine and through our newspapers and websites.”
Worcester added that the majority of other sponsors, including Porsche, were retained. Goerges is an ambassador for Porsche.
⏩ Tickets for the Connecticut Open are available at CTOpen.org/Tickets, or by calling the box office at 1-855-4648366. Individual session tickets went on sale Tuesday morning.
Among the new attractions at this year’s event will be a Beer Fest on Saturday, Aug. 25. Also, the Connecticut Tennis Center now features solar panels in the upper deck of its south tier that will help alleviate the site’s electric bills.