Roddick powers Team Elton to 24-18 win over Team Billie Jean at Mylan WTT Smash Hits at ESPN Wide World of Sports

Filed in: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Sports Celebrity Visits

Event raises more than $700,000 for AIDS charities

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 17, 2013) – Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO returned to the Orlando area for the first time since 1997 on Sunday evening, raising more than $700,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and local charities.

Team Elton defeated Team Billie Jean 24-18 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort to take an 11-10 lead in the overall series.  Andy Roddick, who was making his 11th event appearance, won three sets including men’s singles over John Isner to help Team Elton seal the victory.

“He’s phenomenal,” John said of Roddick. “We miss him on the tour because he’s such a personality. He’s doing so well. He came out and did it tonight.”

A portion of tonight’s proceeds will go towards the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida.  The annual event, co-hosted by Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King, has now raised more the $12 million to support HIV and AIDS prevention and awareness programs since the first event in 1993. Robert and Tricia Earl served as local hosts of tonight’s Mylan WTT Smash Hits.

The evening began with a celebrity Battle of the Sexes set, pitting Elton John and Roddick against Venus Williams and Marion Bartoli. John and Roddick won the entertaining set 4-3.

The celebrity set didn’t count towards the overall match score, but it got Team Elton off on the winning track.  Roddick partnered teammate Robert Kendrick to a 5-4 win against Team Billie Jean’s Isner and Jean-Julien Rojer to kick off the match.

Team Elton moved ahead 10-6 when Williams and Vicky Duval joined forces in women’s doubles for a 5-2 victory over Bartoli and Taylor Townsend. In women’s singles, Townsend won the showdown of top young Americans as she held off Duval for a 5-4 win, clinching the set on a deciding point with a net cord.

Team Elton built on their lead in the 4th set with a 5-3 win in mixed doubles as Roddick teamed with Duval to get past Townsend and Isner. Roddick then closed out the night by topping Isner 5-4 in men’s singles.

Before King and John’s teams battled it out on court, they went head-to-head in a live auction contest, raising $212,000. John’s squad took home honors by bringing in $126,000 of contributions.  Roddick stole the show when he took the microphone to auction off a private lesson, selling two sessions for $36,000 apiece. Billie Jean King’s Wimbledon package, featuring her own Centre Court seats to the 2014 ladies’ and gentlemen’s championship matches, sold for $25,000. Bartoli, the reigning Wimbledon ladies’ champion, subsequently offered up her personal tickets and the $25,000 was matched. Other auction items included an Elton John-signed piano bench, a hitting session with Bartoli, a Daytona 500 experience, tournament packages for the US Open and Indian Wells, and a Forevermark pendant and earrings.

Official sponsors include Mylan, GEICO, 1059 SUNNY FM, Adecco, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Alston & Bird LLP, ANZ, Bright House Media Strategies, Central Florida Press, Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, Credit Suisse, DecoTurf, Fields Auto Group, Forevermark Diamond, Goldman Sachs, Kelley De & Warren LLP, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, Macy’s, McGuireWoods LLP, Orlando Magazine, Planet Hollywood Foundation, Presidio, Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Smart City, Wells Fargo Foundation, Wiley Rein LLP, Wilson, Wipro and Zebra Coalition.

 

Final Results: 

Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex At Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

PRO-CELEB MATCH (didn’t count towards final match score):  Elton John / Andy Roddick def. Venus Williams / Marion Bartoli, 4-3

 

Team Elton def. Team Billie Jean 24-18

Men’s Doubles: Andy Roddick / Robert Kendrick (Team Elton) def. John Isner / Jean-Julien Rojer (Team Billie Jean) 5-4

Women’s Doubles: Venus Williams / Vicky Duval (Team Elton) def. Marion Bartoli / Taylor Townsend (Team Billie Jean) 5-2

Women’s Singles: Taylor Townsend (Team Billie Jean) def. Vicky Duval (Team Elton) 5-4

Mixed Doubles: Andy Roddick / Vicky Duval (Team Elton) def. John Isner / Taylor Townsend (Team Billie Jean) 5-3

Men’s Singles: Andy Roddick (Team Elton) def. John Isner (Team Billie Jean) 5-4

 

TEAM ELTON:

Elton John, Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, Vicky Duval, Robert Kendrick

TEAM BILLIE JEAN:

Billie Jean King, John Isner, Marion Bartoli, Taylor Townsend, Jean-Julien Rojer

For more information on Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO, visit www.WTTSmashHits.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Rosie Crews, Mylan WTT (rcrews@wtt.com), PH: 817-684-0366

Ben Yarrow, Elton John AIDS Foundation (yarrow@westwingwriters.com), PH: 718-596-6875

 

MEDIA NOTE:  Link to some photos from tonight – https://www.hightail.com/download/OGhlcXltcWYzMWxvZE1UQw – please credit Camerawork USA.  If you need additional photos, please contact Rosie Crews at rcrews@wtt.com.

 

2013 Mylan WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO – Organizations & Charities

About Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF)

At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) we believe that AIDS can be beaten.  We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives.  Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993.  Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than $300 million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS.  The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa.  Join us in speaking out, taking action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without AIDS.  For more information, please visit www.ejaf.org.

About Hope and Help Center of Central Florida:

Since 1988, the Hope and Help Center has proudly provided comprehensive and compassionate support in Central Florida for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. As the premier HIV/AIDS service organization in the region, Hope and Help Center offers a full range of care services, as well as education and prevention initiatives that save lives, refute the stigma, and offer hope to all those touched by this disease. Throughout the years Hope and Help Center has grown with eight locations throughout Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola Counties.

About Mylan:

Mylan is a global pharmaceutical company committed to setting new standards in health care. Working together around the world to provide 7 billion people access to high quality medicine, we innovate to satisfy unmet needs; make reliability and service excellence a habit; do what’s right, not what’s easy; and impact the future through passionate global leadership. We offer a growing portfolio of approximately 1,100 generic pharmaceuticals and several brand medications. In addition, we offer a wide range of antiretroviral therapies, upon which approximately 40% of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries depend. We also operate one of the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and currently market products in approximately 140 countries and territories. Our workforce of more than 20,000 people is dedicated to improving the customer experience and increasing pharmaceutical access to consumers around the world. But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself. See inside. mylan.com

About Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT):

Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT) showcases both the best in professional and recreational team tennis with the innovative coed team format co-founded by Billie Jean King in the 1970s.  Mylan WTT is a showcase for many of tennis’ top players, with virtually every major champion of the Open era playing WTT through the years.  The Mylan WTT Recreational League also operates coed team leagues and events.  For more information, visit www.WTT.com.