The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has reached an agreement with the Southern California Tennis Association to become the presenting sponsor of the ATP World Tour 250 and Olympus US Open Series men's professional tennis tournament held each summer at UCLA.

    The 83rd annual LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance will be held July 27-Aug. 2, 2009 at the LA Tennis Center on UCLA's campus in Westwood. ESPN2 will broadcast eight hours of live television coverage this year, including singles quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship matches. The Tennis Channel will again provide additional broadcast coverage.

    “Our motto is 'Privileged to Serve,' so for us this is an ace,” said Kevin Kelso, Farmers Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “This sponsorship put 'top-spin' on our marketing strategy to reach a quality market segment, while showcasing a family friendly sport.”

    “This is a very exciting strategic partnership for the tournament,” said Bob Kramer. “The LA Tennis Open has been part of the Southern California sports, social and entertainment scene for over 80 years thanks to strong corporate support, and with Farmers as presenting sponsor we he hope to grow the event even further.”

    French Open semifinalist Fernando Gonzalez leads a group of early entrants to the 28-player field for the 2009 LA Tennis Open presented by Farmers Insurance. Joining the Chilean will be former LA champions Tommy Haas (2004 and 2006) and Radek Stepanek (2007), two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin, 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, and Americans Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey.

    In addition, the 2009 tournament will feature a special exhibition match on opening night, called the "Millennium Challenge" that will feature Safin against Pete Sampras in a rematch of the 2000 US Open that was won by the Russian.  Sampras' record of 14 career Grand Slam titles was tied earlier this month by Roger Federer when the Swiss won the French Open.

    The balance of the 2009 player field will be revealed on June 22, the opening day at Wimbledon.  That will also be the first day of individual session ticket sales for the 2009 LA Tennis Open Presented by Farmers Insurance Group.