Miami is normally a hotbed of sports and entertainment celebrities, particularly when the MTV Video Music Awards or the Super Bowl is in town. But this week, famous faces have traded in their South Beach party passes for tennis tickets, crossing the bridge that connects downtown Miami to Key Biscayne to catch a bit of action between the lines.
The Sony Ericsson Open kicked off the trend by scheduling celebrity acts to sing the National Anthem prior to evening sessions. Teen pop singer JoJo, whose previous tennis stint was at the 2004 US Open Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day, led the way, performing on Saturday night.
During the broadcast of a match between Fabrice Santoro and Ivan Ljubicic on a subsequent, the vocals from the stadium court blared over the outside courts, audible to television audiences.
The voice belonged up-and-comer Melissa Jimenez, whose first single, “Untouchable,” is currently hitting airwaves nationwide, with her album launch slated for August.
Other acts showing off their musical chops included Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band, Destiny’s Child band member Kelly Rowland, and local favorite, Puerto Rican Jose Feliciano. Tinsley, a renowned tennis fan, took the stage Wednesday night and serenaded the crowd with his famous violin solos, much like he did for US television viewers during the Wimbledon fortnight.
The Williams sisters have drawn a few supporters of their own, as has Maria Sharapova. On Sunday, Grammy-award-winning rapper-turned actor, Ludacris was courtside, taking in the action between the elder sister and the Russian. He was in town to perform at Shaquille O’Neal’s belated birthday party on Saturday night. The Miami Heat center turned 35 on March 6.
When Serena took on Sharapova in today’s much anticipated match-up, the stars came out—literally. Former “View” co-host and E! Entertainment reporter Star Jones was on hand, sitting next to NFL player Terrell Owens.
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“Sex and the City” cast member Kristin Davis was on hand for opening weekend, as was Florida Panthers’ Ville Peltonen who was on hand to cheerfellow Finn, Jarkko Nieminen. Peltonen was repaying Nieminen for visiting Fort Lauderdale to watch the Panthers take on the Ottawa Senators. The No. 1 Finnish tennis player enjoyed special treatment for his effort, scoring rink-side seats before retreating to the Panthers Platinum Club and the player locker room.
Not to be outdone, the golfing world was also well-represented. Besides the numerous Tiger Woods-Roger Federer sightings, Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman and Luke Donald of the PGA Tour also made appearances.
And that was just for the first few days. Check out this tournament-compiled list for the rest of the week: