The
Legg Mason Tennis Classic is an annual late-summer men's
tennis tournament played in
Washington, D.C. as part of the
ATP Tour. It was first held (as the
Washington Star International) in 1969. It was later known as the
Sovran Bank Classic. . Originally an event of the
Grand Prix Tennis Tour(1970-1989) and part of the
Grand Prix Championship Series (1975-1977). The tournament was played on a clay court until 1986, after which it switched to hard. It has remained a hard court tournament ever since.
The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is now one of the
United States Open Series of hard-court tournaments leading up to the US Open in September.
The tournament is produced by Lagardere Unlimited. Its lead sponsor is
Legg Mason, a financial services company. Throughout its existence, the tournament has been closely associated with Donald Dell, founder of ProServ International, who was instrumental in creation of the tournament. The location of the tournament in Washington D.C. was chosen at the urging of
Arthur Ashe, an early supporter.
It is held at the
William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in
Rock Creek Park, a
U.S. National Park. The tournament is accessible by taking the Metro to the UDC...
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