South African Airways (SAA) is pleased to announce it is again the official airline sponsor of the ATP tennis tournament, Apia International, starting on January 8 at Sydney’s Olympic Park.

According to Thevan Krishna, SAA’s Head of Australasia, the airline’s exclusive global deal with ATP, governing body of the men's professional circuit, is now in its sixth year. SAA became a platinum sponsor in 2011.

“The Apia International will take place at Sydney Olympic Park from January 8 with the women’s finals to be played on January 13 and the men’s finals on January 14,” Thevan said.

“Again this year both the men’s and women’s tennis promise to be very exciting. Major stars like Juan Martin del Potro, Marcos Baghdatis and our very own Lleyton Hewitt will play in the men’s while World number 1 Caroline Wozniacki along with three reigning Grand Slam title holders Petra Kvitova, Li Na and Sam Stosur will play in the women’s.

“Next week we will welcome many of our travel industry partners to some of the matches which is our way of showing our appreciation of their support for SAA through the past year.

“SAA is thrilled to again be the official airline sponsor and the exclusive airline for the event. The ATP sponsorship is a great initiative for us here in Australia. This year’s tournament is expected to attract capacity crowds to see some of the world’s best tennis players.

“Our involvement with ATP since 2006 when we first signed the deal has been great and each year we benefit from the high quality management of the event and the fact that our clients look forward to and enjoy being with us out at Olympic Park.

“The ATP sponsorship has been great for our branding in Australia and we have seen a demonstrable return on investment and brand awareness each year as a result,” Thevan concluded.