Novak Djokovic and His New Wilson [K]Blade Tour Win Their First Grand Slam Title

Novak Djokovic & Jo-Wilfried Tsonga switch to new [K]Blade rackets for 2008 and go on to dominate the men’s draw at the OZ Open

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cory Springer
8750 W. Bryn Mawr
Chicago,
773-714-6703
cory.springer@wilson.com

01/27/08 - Chicago--Wilson [K]Factor rackets continue their strong momentum to start off 2008 with Novak Djokovic making the switch to his new [K]Blade Tour model and winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Another player who made the switch to Wilson’s new [K]Blade 98 was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France, who has now burst into the Top 20 with his unbelievable showing at the Australian Open where he beat several top seeded players, including Rafael Nadal, to reach his first Grand Slam final.

Wilson players overall dominated the Australian Open with not just 3 of the 4 men’s semi-finalists playing [K]Factor, but Wilson players Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram went on to take the men’s doubles title as well as the Bondarenko sisters (Alona & Katheryne) coming through to win the ladies doubles title with their new [K]Blade and [K]Tour rackets.

“We’ve already had such great success with our [K]Six.One family of rackets, seeing our new [K]Blade family have this kind of immediate impact is very exciting”, said Jon Muir, global General Manager of Wilson Racquet Sports. “Novak playing the new [K]Blade Tour and then Tsonga playing the new [K]Blade 98 re-enforces our belief that the [K]Blade family of rackets, including the [K]Blade Team that Venus & Serena have also now switched to, will have a big impact with players everywhere in 2008” added Muir.

Another unique element of Djokovic and Tsonga’s performance at the Australian Open is their new [K]Pro Tour black & gold bags that both are now using - along with several other [K]Blade players also carrying. These new bags are not only turning heads with their stand-out looks but they also feature Wilson’s Thermoguard and Moistureguard technologies that provide added protection for their rackets, strings, and other equipment.

“All of us at Wilson want to congratulate all of our players, especially Novak, on such a strong performance to start off 2008 and winning his first Grand Slam title” added Jon Muir, “It’s going to be a very exciting 2008”.

The wide acceptance and switch by tour professionals to [K]Factor for 2008 continues to position Wilson as the clear #1 brand for 2008. Wilson was the #1 brand amongst tour players in 2007 (according to the official 2007 Wimbledon survey) and continues to be the #1 racket brand purchased by consumers worldwide.



Wilson Racquet Sports is a division of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods, one of the world's leading manufacturers of sports equipment and owned by Amer Sports. Wilson designs, manufactures and distributes sporting goods throughout the world and focuses on making technologically advanced products which help players of all levels perform better. Wilson's core sport categories include: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Soccer, Youth Sports, Uniforms/Apparel, Golf, Footwear and Racquet Sports (Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Badminton and Platform Tennis). For more information, visit www.wilson.com.

Company Website
www.wilson.com
Company Profile
Tenniswire.org/companies/wilson/index.html