Samantha Stosur Enters Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa Resort and Spa

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Tournament officials announced today that 2010 French Open singles finalist Samantha Stosur has entered the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 8 at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

Stosur is coming off her first career Grand Slam singles final where she defeated Justine Henin in the fourth round, Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, before falling to Italy's Francesca Schiavone in a tightly-contested Roland Garros final. Williams is the current No. 1 player in the world, while Henin and Jankovic were formerly ranked No. 1 in the world.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Stosur is ranked No. 7 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and currently leads the tour in main draw singles victories with 32. Since turning professional in 1999, the 26-year-old Australian has won two career tour singles titles and 22 career tour doubles titles. She achieved the number one doubles ranking in the world in February 2006.

"We are extremely happy to welcome this year's French Open runner-up to La Costa this summer," said Raquel Giscafre, Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center tournament director. "Samantha had an incredible run at Roland Garros and her success is a testament to her strong dedication and hard work. Everyone here is looking forward to watching her play."

Stosur will join a strong field at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center which already includes Russians Dinara Safina, Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova as well as Serbia's Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Former two-time tournament champion Lindsay Davenport has also accepted a wild card into the Mercury Insurance Open doubles competition, where she will partner with fellow American Liezel Huber.

For more information on Stosur, go to www.samstosur.com.

The Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, a Premier 700 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event offering $700,000 in prize money, marks the return of women's professional tennis to Carlsbad after a two-year hiatus. The event will be televised on Tennis Channel and ESPN 2, and will comprise one of the 10 events of the Olympus U.S. Open Series. For additional information about the Mercury Insurance Open, log onto http://www.mercuryinsuranceopen.com/; join us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SDTennis); or follow frequent updates on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MercuryInsOpen).

Mercury Insurance Group, title sponsor of the Mercury Insurance Open Presented by Tri-City Medical Center, is offering tennis fans the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a trip to the 2010 U.S. Open.  Contestants can register to win a package that includes airfare, hotel and VIP tickets to the Open by visiting www.mercuryinsurance.com/tennis.  No purchase is necessary to enter or win.  You must be a legal California resident 18 years of age or older with a valid driver's license to participate in the sweepstakes.

About Mercury Insurance: Founded in 1962, Mercury Insurance (MCY) is a multiple-line insurance organization offering predominantly personal automobile and homeowners insurance through a network of independent agents and brokers in California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For more information about Mercury Insurance, visit www.mercuryinsurance.com.

About Tri-City Medical Center: Founded in 1957 to serve the healthcare needs of coastal North San Diego County, Tri-City Medical Center is a full-service, acute care hospital with (500) physicians practicing in 60 specialties. The Medical Center is administered by the Tri-City Healthcare District, which includes most of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista. For more information about Tri-City Medical Center, please visit www.tricitymed.org.

About the USTA: Now in its seventh season, the Olympus U.S. Open Series has established itself as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the U.S. Open. Fans can follow the action with nearly 200 hours of live television coverage, culminating each week with back-to-back men's and women's finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for more than $37 million and a chance for bonus prize money at the U.S. Open. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Olympus U.S. Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express, Evian and Grand Marnier.

Sam Querrey won the 2009 Olympus U.S. Open Series men's title and Elena Dementieva won the women's title. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history—$2.4 million—for winning the U.S. Open and the Olympus U.S. Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters captured both the U.S. Open and the Olympus U.S. Open Series, winning $2.2 million—the largest purse in women's sports history.

About Octagon Tennis: Octagon has a rich and proud history in the sport of tennis, having managed the careers of 63 Grand Slam Champions and 11 Olympic gold medalists over three decades. In addition, Octagon owns or manages more professional tennis events than any other agency with WTA and ATP events including the Kremlin Cup, Brasil Open, the Movistar Open and the Western & Southern Financial Group Championships, which is also part of the Olympus U.S. Open Series, among others. For more information, please visit www.octagontennis.com.

SOURCE Mercury Insurance