By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RETIRED Bahamian legendary tennis player Mark Knowles is excited to be bringing the Baha Mar Cup back to the Bahamas for the second time.

Since taking a break because of the coronavirus pandemic that struck the world in 2020, Knowles said he’s pleased that, with some of the restrictions lifted, they can once again host the one-of-a-kind tennis fundraising event.

The event, which seeks to benefit the Baha Mar Resort Foundation and the Mark Knowles Children’s Tennis Initiative, is scheduled for November 5-6 and Knowles will be joined by renowned tennis stars Andy Roddick, James Blake, Jennifer Brady and Cliff Drysdale.

“We have some incredible names once again and to pair the weekend with Taste of SLS and the John Legend Concert, is a win-win situation for us at Baha Mar,” Knowles said. “This is a nice opportunity to raise a lot of money and to continue to give back to the Bahamas.”

While it gives back to the Baha Mar Foundation, Knowles said the event will be doubly important as it helps his own Mark Knowles Children’s Tennis Initiative, which emerged out of his Mark Knowles Foundation, a charitable organisation that he formed about 13 years ago to assist with the development of tennis in the Bahamas.

“It’s important because I continue to fund children’s charities in the Bahamas, continue to fund the next generation of players, giving them an opportunity to go to tournaments and to go to colleges and universities and sports camps and to further their education and their growth and development in the sport,” Knowles said.

“So it’s a really important endeavour for me to try to make as big of an impact that I can make on my country, the Bahamas, and for the future generation of players who have and will continue to follow in my footsteps.

During an illustrious 24-year-career that spanned from 1992 to 2016 when he started and officially retired as a professional player, Knowles amassed an impressive 52 titles in doubles, including capturing three of the four grand slams – Australian Open in 2002, US open in 2004 and French Open in 2007 – all with Canadian Daniel Nestor and the other at Wimbledon in 2002 when he paired up with Anna-Lena Gronefeld of Germany.

Knowles, 50, was also a five-time Olympian who enjoyed the second longest tenure as a member of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Federation’s prestigious Davis Cup team, having played for 14 years producing a 41-32 win-loss record, including 23-25 in singles and 18-7 in doubles. Only Marvin Rolle, now the player/captain, has participated longer, last year reaching his 17th season.

Now turning his attention to the growth and development of the sport, Knowles will also be joined by Cliff Drysdale Tennis founder Cliff Drysdale for a Saturday Morning Clinic (11/6) as they play host to roughly 100 junior tennis players ages 7-14 from the Bahamas.

The players will receive great tennis instruction, spectacular tennis gifts, tickets to watch the Baha Mar Cup Celebrity Tennis Challenge, and great food & beverage throughout the day.

Knowles and Drysdale will participate in the Celebrity Tennis Challenge with Brady, the 2021 Australian Open finalist and 2020 US Open semi-finalist; Blake, the 2005 ATP Comeback Player of the Year and the 2008 ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year and Roddick, the US Open champion and five-time Grand Slam finalist.

The event, according to Knowles, is open to the general public, but he noted that persons wishing to participate in the Celebrity Challenge will be charged a minimum fee as well as those adults wishing to view the competition. Admission for children is free.

“The most important part of the weekend is Saturday when we have the clinic for the kids,” Knowles said. “I know when we first held it a couple years ago before the pandemic, it was amazing. We had hundreds of kids out there.

“That’s where it all started. You give the kids an opportunity to see someone like Andy Roddick, James and Jennifer Brady, these incredible players and it makes an impact. I remember when I first got to see Bjorn Borg, who was my idol. It was just amazing for me.”

Although the country is still under some tight restrictions for COVID-19, Knowles assured the public that all precautions will be made to ensure that everyone gets through the health and safety measures in place.

“It’s an outdoor event, which helps tremendously,” he said. “It’s always better to be outdoors in this pandemic, but it’s also good for us to start to get back to some type of normalcy. At some point, we have to figure out how to be safe and also how to live our lives. We don’t want to compromise our health, so we will provide an event that is safe for all to attend.”

At the end of the day, Knowles said the event will also help to assist in his Mark Knowles Tennis Bahamas programme on Paradise Island where local players such as Rolle, Kevin Major Jr, Philip Major Jr and Danielle Thompson are among the list of coaches assisting the next generation of players.

Knowles said he decided to give back to the country because there were persons like the late J Barrie Farrington, who would have planted a seed in his growth and development as a young player on the local scene.

“Mr Farrington was probably one of the greatest personalities I have met in my life,” he said. “He’s probably one of the greatest persons my family have ever been involved with, one of the most generous human beings on the planet, always thinking about others.

“Obviously, I’m extremely close to the family, but Mr Farrington gave me lots of opportunities. He was always and usually the first one there to support me at a young age. He supported my entire family. I consider myself fortunate to be a friend.”

Through their association, Knowles said he was able to lean on the late Farrington for advice and he was always there for him. He offered his condolences publicly to the family, especially his son, John, who was a former team-mate and long-time coach on the national team.

“It’s a terrible loss, not just for myself, but my family, his family and for anyone who ever came in contact with Mr Farrington,” he said. “He was probably one of the greatest Bahamians I’ve ever met.”