The 8th Annual K-Swiss Desert Smash Celebrity Charity Tennis event was held on Tuesday March 6th at LaQuinta Resort and Spa, Tennis was held at the LaQuinta Resort Stadium Center Court. Tennis pro-am tournaments were held thru out the day. A pro-am Luncheon was held at 2. The Desert Smash Tennis Exhibition featured top Tennis Pro Players.
Mardy Fish, Bob Bryan, Fernando Verdasco and Sam Querrey played a doubles match exhibition for the huge crowd gathered on the lawn surrounding the Tennis Court. The Final match of the afternoon saw Mardy Fish competing agains the number one seed, Novak Djokovic. Djokovic drove over 4 hours from the LA Airport to get there. He didn’t want to disappoint the fans.
The winds were gusting so hard that parts of the palm trees flew onto the court and into the crowd. The Tennis players jokingly waited for the winds to subside before playing. The emcee said it could take all night if they did that so they just played in the heavy winds. The players all seemed to enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the tournament.
Celebrities included a couple of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast, Sports figures, actors and an American Idol finalist, Michael Johns. There were other Tennis Pros in the event like James Blake and Mark Knowles.
There was a Gala following the tennis match at the LaQuinta Fiesta Ballroom. The Variety of the Desert-The Children’s Charity benefit from this event. The charity promotes and protects special needs and underprivileged kids in the Valley.
