Svetlana Kuznetsova, two time Grand Slam champion and former World Number 2 ladies tennis player, took on a surprising new opponent in 2010.
Svetlana enjoyed a convincing win against Malaria No More UK’s Mozzy Man in a dramatic two set defeat at the AEGON International at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne.
This was the first time in the history of the Tournament that a super size mosquito has set foot on court. Their encounter was filmed to create a short online viral for Malaria No More UK to raise awareness.
Watch the film on www.netsneeded.co.uk.
The build up to the match had seen a fierce rivalry develop between the two players with Mozzy Man entering with a wildcard and Svetlana unwilling to recognise the giant size mosquito as a credible opponent. The match was short lived as Mozzy Man failed to live up to his rhetoric or return a series of well placed and hard hitting shots from Svetlana. Mozzy Man became increasingly frustrated at his inability to hold serve or win any points and he finally lost the match 0-6, 0-6 leaving him with a considerable amount to reflect on.
Svetlana Kuznetsova said of making the film: “I have enjoyed it and I hope the public really enjoy it too because the idea was great. They should listen to this important message because it will help.”
This was Mozzy Man’s highest profile public appearance to date as Malaria No More UK’s biggest fan. Unlike malarial mosquitoes, Mozzy Man does not bite people but works tirelessly to raise awareness and funds from the British public to help save lives in Africa.
“I am very grateful to Svetlana and to the Lawn Tennis Association for supporting our charity and for the match with Mozzy Man. We set out to capture the attention and imagination of the British public on the crucial issue of making malaria no more. We hope this latest film will do just that. It will be great to see the public’s reaction to Mozzy Man’s performance!”
Sarah Kline, Executive Director for Malaria No More
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