Date of issue: 15th June 2005

ACCOUNTANTS KEEP SCORE AS TENNIS TOURNAMENT REACHES NEW HEIGHTS

Chartered accountants Clement Keys, Birmingham are auditors to the Edgbaston
Priory Club, venue for the highly successful DFS Classic International Women's Tennis Tournament, which finished last week.

Last year Russian teenager Maria Sharapova took the tennis world by storm when she won the DFS Classic and then went on to triumph at Wimbledon. The DFS Classic is often viewed as an ideal warm up event for Wimbledon, the game's only grass court Grand Slam, but the tournament continues to grow in stature and has been a key fixture in the WTA Tour calendar for the past 24 years.

The DFS Classic opens the grass court season for many of the world's top women tennis players and 64 of them returned to Edgbaston for this year's tournament, including seven of the top 30 ranked women. In the final, Russian teenager Maria Sharapova beat Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to retain her title.

"When exciting young and highly talented players like Maria Sharapova add their names to the DFS Classic championship trophy, the future of the event is assured and interest in tennis is once again renewed as youngsters are encouraged to follow her lead and pick up a racquet," says Michael Meakin, managing partner at Clement Keys, Birmingham.

"Edgbaston is where things really started to take off for Maria Sharapova, when she reached the semi-final of the DFS Classic in 2003. She has certainly achieved a great deal since then and it is very gratifying for the organisers and sponsors that she came back and successfully defended her title."

The DFS Classic continues to go from strength to strength, with the final three days of the competition sold out long before the event began. Thanks to an increased centre Court capacity a record week long attendance of over 12,500 ensured the 2005 event was the best yet.

"We were delighted when tickets for all days sold out," adds Michael Meakin, "and the fact that ground passes had to be sold for the outside courts for the first time can only be great for tennis, great for this prestigious event and great for Birmingham."