By Mario Sarmento
No. 25 seed Marin Cilic took time out of his busy schedule for a little fun with some fans during the Michelob ULTRA Night at the Michelob ULTRA Beer Garden at the 2014 Sony Open Tennis.
Cilic took a seat in front of the bar and conducted a trivia game that consisted of Sony Open and Michelob ULTRA questions that fans answered for a chance to win an autographed towel or two tickets for the night tennis session in the Michelob ULTRA suite.
The Croatian player chose from fans who had their hands raised, though only those 21-and-over were allowed to participate. Fans who answered questions Cilic deemed the toughest won the tickets, while all other correct responders received towels.
Cilic enjoyed the back-and-forth as much as the fans did. “It just gives you a little bit of insight on the players,” he said. “And I always like to do that, to show to the fans that players are also humans like them. It’s a relaxed atmosphere here, and I like that always. It’s not too official, and you can interact with the fans. I would appreciate that the most as a fan when I would come to some event.”
A pair of sisters who have visited the Sony Open for nine consecutive years from their native Aruba were lucky enough to win both prizes Michelob ULTRA was giving away. Mirjam Davelaar won the autographed towel when she correctly answered the question, “Which men’s player has won the most Sony Open titles?” (Answer: Andre Agassi with six).
Later, her sister Natascha won the tickets for answering “Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde” to the question, “Which men’s doubles team has won the most titles together?”
Natascha and Mirjam are here for the weekend, and they say it’s the first time they’ve won anything at the Sony Open. They said they enjoyed Michelob ULTRA Night because, as Natascha said, “We got to know the player a little better, and that’s what we like.”
