“We think Michael is an unbelievable competitor and really embodies the spirit of the Tourna Grip brand,” says Mike Niksich, VP of Unique Sports. Michael joins fellow Americans James Blake, Pete Sampras, John Isner, Sam Querry, and the Bryan Brothers, as official endorsers of Tourna Grip.

From the desk of Deryck Cheney & Sean Doran, ATP experts and player analyst of ATP tennis pros.

Player: Michael Russell

Current World Ranking: 68

Player Stock Rating:

Summary: Michael Russell is currently ranked 68 in the world and is now the 5^th ranked American tennis player in the world.  Russell’s 2010 season has shown significant promise and he is playing the best tennis of his life, recently reaching the quarterfinals of the SAP Open in San Jose.  At the Australian Open, Russell’s match, a tight four set battle, against the reigning US Open champion and fifth ranked player in the world, Juan Martin Del Potro.  This was a premier match on primetime and was featured on the worldwide broadcasting feed seen by over 100 million viewers.  Immediately following the Australian Open, Russell won the next ATP event he entered in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Based upon his strong start to the 2010 season, as well as our projections for the remainder of the year, we are initiating a “buy rating” on Michael Russell for all potential investors of his brand.

Future Outlook: Based upon Russell’s current level of play, we are projecting that he will defend his ATP points this spring and maintain his current ranking heading into the summer season.  Russell’s best surface is clay, as evidenced by his 4^th round appearance at the French Open where he nearly defeated eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten.  Based upon these projections, this will position Russell to be in a strong position leading into Wimbledon with no additional points to defend through the summer hard court season in North America.  He has tremendous upside potential at this juncture, with a very realistic possibility of entering the top 50 leading into the premier Grand Slam, The US Open, in late August.   We are projecting that he will be one of the top five ranked Americans, which will position him for prime International television exposure.

See below for his rankings trajectory since late 2008, during which time he has moved up the rankings quicker than any other ATP pro.  We do not see any reason why his path will flatten out and feel confident that the time is now to buy the Michael Russell brand.