Venus Williams reacts during her loss to Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the third round of the Family Circle Cup tournament in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday.
TEMPE – Organizers expect some 20,000 to participate Saturday in the fifth Pat’s Run to celebrate the life of the late Pat Tillman.
Tillman was a standout football player at Arizona State and played for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals before abruptly quitting his athletic career to join the U.S. Army Rangers in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York City.
He was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.
The 4.2-mile run starts in the parking lot at Sun Devil Stadium and ends on the stadium’s 42-yard line.
Entrants pay $40, with proceeds going to the Pat Tillman Foundation, which sponsors leadership programs, including the Tillman Scholars program at Arizona State, the National Veterans Scholarship Fund and the Collegiate Fund for Social Action.
There also is a free 0.42-mile race for children 12 and under.
Tillman wore No. 42 as a linebacker at Arizona State.The event has grown from 3,000 who participated in the first Pat’s Run in 2005.
Several hundred more are expected to take part in “shadow runs” in eight locations across the country – San Diego; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Austin, Texas; Colorado; and a tri-state run through New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Venus upset by 16th seed
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Second-seeded Venus Williams was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup on Thursday, falling to 63rd-ranked Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 7-6 (5) in a startling early exit that took even Williams by surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting that and, you know, I’ll try to come back next year and win,” she said. “I made a few errors at the wrong time and she played some great shots.”
It was the first time Williams had faced Lisicki, the German with the big serve seeded 16th this week. Lisicki consistently sent serves of over 110 mph toward Williams on the green clay of stadium court at Family Circle Tennis Center.
Her serve of 123.1 mph at the Australian Open is the second-fastest on the women’s tour this year.
“I’m confident with my serve,” Lisicki said. “Sometimes I’m struggling, but you know, in the important points I could really count on my serve, which was very good.”