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Borg, McEnroe, Chang to Headline New Event In China

The city of Chengdu in China, home of the giant panda, will play host to a new event on the ATP Champions Tour with John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Michael Chang headlining a world class field.The tournament will take place in the Sichuan Province, November 5-8, 2009, making it the first event to be played in China on the ATP Champions Tour.

McEnroe, Borg and Chang will be joined by former World Number One players Marcelo Rios, Mats Wilander and three other as-yet-unnamed stars at the event, which will be staged at the 6,700-seat Sichuan Tennis Centre and shown on China Central Television. The players are thrilled at the prospect. “I am extremely excited to be making my first trip to China in a very long time; this is a country that is fast becoming a major player in world tennis,” said McEnroe.

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Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD
City: Algarve, Portugal
Dates: August 11-14, 2009
Venue: Vale Do Lobo Tennis Academy
Director: Pedro Aguiar Frazao
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Website: www.grandchampions.org

Among players, the Vale Do Lobo Grand Champions CGD is quite possibly the most popular location on the ATP Champions Tour. Set in the exclusive Vale do Lobo holiday resort, life is as fast or slow as they want it to be, with gorgeous golf courses galore, stunning beaches and fine dining on offer. The Algarve is the Southernmost region of mainland Portugal, with approximately 400,000 permanent inhabitants.

In seven years, the event has not seen a drop of rain, and while they wait for play to get underway in the cooler evenings, the players relax by the hotel pool while spectators enjoy their time at the beach. In fact, some of the players have enjoyed the area so much that they have invested in property there.

Particularly popular with British, German and Austrian holiday-makers, fans flock to see the Grand Slam stars they remember from yesteryear. When Pat Cash played, he ran out of his hoard of black-and-white chequered headbands in seconds, such was the demand from fans. Run by a polite, ultra-efficient tournament staff, the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD is a pleasure to visit, and you will want to go back again and again.

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Players - Algarve 2009



Stefan EDBERG

Birthdate: January 16, 1966
Place of Birth: Vastervik, Sweden
Height: 1,87m (6'1")
Weight: 77kg (170lbs)
Plays: RightHanded
Pro: 1983
Highest ATP Singles: #1
ATP Titles: 42

Marcelo RIOS

Birthdate: December 26, 1976
Birthplace: Santiago, Chile
Height: 1,75m (5'8'')
Weight: 75kg (165lbs)
Plays: LeftHanded
Pro: 1994-2004
Highest ATP Singles: #1
ATP Titles: 18

Mats WILANDER

Birthdate: August 22, 1964
Place of Birth: Vaxjo, Sweden
Height: 1,83m (6'0'')
Weight: 77kg (170lbs)
Plays: RightHanded
Pro: 1981
Highest ATP Singles: 1º
ATP Titles: 33

Greg RUSEDSKI

Birthdate: September 6, 1973
Place of Birth: Montereal, Canada
Height: 1,93m (6'3'')
Weight: 90kg (198lbs)
Plays: LeftHanded
Pro: 1991
Highest ATP Singles: 4º
ATP Titles: 15

Henri LECONTE

Birthdate: July 4, 1963
Place of Birth: Lilers, France
Height: 1,85m (6'1'')
Weight: 85kg (187lbs)
Plays: LeftHanded
Pro: 1980
Highest ATP Singles: 5º
ATP Titles: 9

Marc GOELLNER

Birthdate: September 22, 1970
Place of Birth: Rio Janeiro, Brazil
Height: 1,95m (6'3'')
Weight: 81kg (179lbs)
Plays: RightHanded
Pro: 1991
Highest ATP Singles: 4º
ATP Titles: 15


Nuno MARQUES

Birthdate: April 9, 1970
Place of Birth: Porto, Portugal
Height: 1,90m (6'2'')
Weight: 80kg (176lbs)
Plays: LeftHanded
Pro: 1987
Highest ATP Singles: 86º

Fernando MELIGENI

Birthdate: April 12, 1971
Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height: 1,80m (5'9'')
Weight: 64kg (141lbs)
Plays: LeftHanded
Pro: 1990
Highest ATP Singles: 25º
ATP Titles: 3

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Vale do Lobo Group

Stefan Edberg
Mats Wilander
Henri Leconte
Fernando Meligeni

Caixa Geral de Depósitos Group

Marcelo Rios
Greg Rusedski
Marc Goellner
Nuno Marques

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Time/Date Tuesday, 11th of August 1st Set 2nd Set Champions
Tie Break
17:00 Marcelo Rios vs Nuno Marques
18:30 Mats Wilander vs Fernando Meligeni
21:00 Greg Rusedski vs Marc Goellner - (Delayed TV Broadcast)
22:30 Stefan Edberg vs Henri Leconte - (Live TV Broadcast)

Time/Date Wednesday, 12th of August 1st Set 2nd Set Champions
Tie Break
17:00 Henri Leconte vs Fernando Meligeni
18:30 Marcelo Rios vs Marc Goellner
21:00 Greg Rusedski vs Nuno Marques - (Delayed TV Broadcast)
22:30 Stefan Edberg vs Mats Wilander- (Live TV Broadcast)

Time/Date Thursday, 13th of August 1st Set 2nd Set Champions
Tie Break
17:00 Nuno Marques vs Marc Goellner
18:30 Mats Wilander vs Henri Leconte
21:00 Marcelo Rios vs Greg Rusedski - (Delayed TV Broadcast)
22:30 Stefan Edberg vs Fernando Meligeni - (Live TV Broadcast)

Time/Date Friday, 14th of August 1st Set 2nd Set Champions
Tie Break
18:30 Doubles Exhibition - (Delayed TV Broadcast)
20:45 3rd and 4th place
22:00 Final - (Live TV Broadcast)

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SCHEDULE

*Play starts every day at 1PM Central European Time.

Thursday 16th April 2009
Magnus Gustafsson vs. Felix Mantilla results
Albert Costa vs. Pat Cash results
Anders Jarryd vs. Richard Krajicek results
Michael Stich vs. Cedric Pioline results

Friday 17th April 2009
Richard Krajicek vs. Pat Cash results
Albert Costa vs. Anders Jarryd results
Felix Mantilla vs. Cedric Pioline results
Magnus Gustafsson vs. Michael Stich results

Saturday 18th April 2009
Albert Costa vs. Richard Krajicek results
Felix Mantilla vs. Michael Stich results
Anders Jarryd vs. Pat Cash results
Magnus Gustafsson vs. Cedric Pioline results

Sunday 19th April 2009
The Final results
3rd/4th Place Play-off results

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Results from Thursday 16th April 2009
Felix Mantilla d Magnus Gustafsson ..64 61
Albert Costa d Pat Cash ...................64 64
Anders Jarryd vs. Richard Krajicek ....64 61
Cedric Pioline d Michael Stich ............61 62

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STANDINGS

Group A........................Matches won/lost (sets)
Albert Costa ..................................3-0 ......(6-1)
Anders Jarryd ................................2-1 ......(4-2)
Richard Krajicek .............................1-2 ......(3-4)
Pat Cash ......................................0-3 ......(0-6)

Group B.......................Matches won/lost (sets)
Felix Mantilla .................................3-0 .......(6-0)
Magnus Gustafsson ........................2-1 .......(4-3)
Cedric Pioline ................................1-2 .......(3-4)
Michael Stich ...............................0-3 .......(0-6)

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Mantilla Completes Emotional Comeback After Cancer Recovery

Felix Mantilla completed an emotional comeback just two years after recovering from skin cancer as he became the first player in history to win an ATP Champions Tour and an ATP World Tour title in Barcelona. In the final of the Champions Cup on Sunday, Mantilla beat Albert Costa 6-4, 6-1.

The Spaniard, who won the ATP title in 1999, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006 after undergoing tests on a mole on his back. The former top ten player made a brief comeback before retiring from the game, but went on to win his battle against the disease. Despite being given a clean bill of health, he did not expect to be back playing title-winning tennis in Barcelona.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be playing tennis like this again,” said Mantilla, after completing victory at his maiden ATP Champions Tour event. “When I got my illness, I felt like I was retired and that it was finished. But then they gave me the possibility to come here and to play on the ATP Champions Tour and I thought ‘Why not?’ It’s always nice to play your sport whilst having fun.”

For Mantilla, today’s win was the perfect end to an enjoyable week spent in his home city.

“I have really good memories of this Centre Court here in Barcelona,” said Mantilla, who jumps to No.1 in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings. "Today it was a good match and both of us did our best. It’s always special to be here and hopefully I can come back next year to defend my title.”

Although his battle with cancer put a premature end to his career on the ATP Tour, since retiring Mantilla has remained involved in the tennis world. For the past year he has been working for Tennis Australia as a talent-spotter, and he now spends half of the year living Down Under working with young Australian Tennis players.

“I’m really happy that Tennis Australia gave me the opportunity to try and help them,” he said. “I’m working to try and develop clay court tennis in Australia. We’re hoping that the young kids can grow up playing on slower surfaces, because that will help their play on all surfaces.”

In the third/fourth place play-off, Magnus Gustafsson defeated fellow Swede Anders Jarryd 6-7(3), 6-2, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break) in a thrilling three-set encounter. Jarryd looked to be dominating his countryman early on, but Gustafsson pulled off a dramatic comeback, eventually saving two match points in the Champions’ Tie Break before clinching the match.

The ATP Champions Tour will now move on to Sao Paulo for the Nossa Caixa Grand Champions (May 21-24).

Mantilla Completes Emotional Comeback After Cancer Recovery
Felix Mantilla completed an emotional comeback just two years after recovering from skin cancer as he became the first player in history to win an ATP Champions Tour and an ATP World Tour title in Barcelona. In the final of the Champions Cup on Sunday, Mantilla beat Albert Costa 6-4, 6-1.

The Spaniard, who won the ATP title in 1999, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006 after undergoing tests on a mole on his back. The former top ten player made a brief comeback before retiring from the game, but went on to win his battle against the disease. Despite being given a clean bill of health, he did not expect to be back playing title-winning tennis in Barcelona.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be playing tennis like this again,” said Mantilla, after completing victory at his maiden ATP Champions Tour event. “When I got my illness, I felt like I was retired and that it was finished. But then they gave me the possibility to come here and to play on the ATP Champions Tour and I thought ‘Why not?’ It’s always nice to play your sport whilst having fun.”

For Mantilla, today’s win was the perfect end to an enjoyable week spent in his home city.

“I have really good memories of this Centre Court here in Barcelona,” said Mantilla, who jumps to No.1 in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings. "Today it was a good match and both of us did our best. It’s always special to be here and hopefully I can come back next year to defend my title.”

Although his battle with cancer put a premature end to his career on the ATP Tour, since retiring Mantilla has remained involved in the tennis world. For the past year he has been working for Tennis Australia as a talent-spotter, and he now spends half of the year living Down Under working with young Australian Tennis players.

“I’m really happy that Tennis Australia gave me the opportunity to try and help them,” he said. “I’m working to try and develop clay court tennis in Australia. We’re hoping that the young kids can grow up playing on slower surfaces, because that will help their play on all surfaces.”

In the third/fourth place play-off, Magnus Gustafsson defeated fellow Swede Anders Jarryd 6-7(3), 6-2, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break) in a thrilling three-set encounter. Jarryd looked to be dominating his countryman early on, but Gustafsson pulled off a dramatic comeback, eventually saving two match points in the Champions’ Tie Break before clinching the match.

The ATP Champions Tour will now move on to Sao Paulo for the Nossa Caixa Grand Champions (May 21-24).

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Friday 17th April 2009
Richard Krajicek d. Pat Cash walkover
Albert Costa d. Anders Jarryd 7-5, 6-4
Felix Mantilla d. Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-0
Magnus Gustafsson d. Michael Stich 6-3, 7-6(6)

Saturday 18th April 2009
Felix Mantilla d. Michael Stich 6-3, 6-3
Anders Jarryd d. Pat Cash 6-2, 6-1
Magnus Gustafsson d. Cedric Pioline 6-4, 4-6, 10-8
Albert Costa d. Richard Krajicek 6-3, 4-6, 10-6

Sunday 19th April 2009
Felix Mantilla d. Albert Costa 6-4, 6-1
Magnus Gustafsson d. Anders Jarryd 6-7(3), 6-2, 11-9

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This week marks the Champions Tour event in Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Programme

Thursday, 21st of May
17:00 Emílio Sanchez VS Paul Haarhuis
18:30 Henri Leconte VS Fernando Meligeni
20:00 Sergi Bruguera VS Thomas Enqvist
21:30 Marcelo Rios VS Gilad Bloom

Friday, 22nd of May
17:00 Paul Haarhuis VS Thomas Enqvist
18:30 Fernando Meligeni VS Gilad Bloom
20:00 Emíio Sanchez VS Sergi Bruguera
21:30 Marcelo Rios VS Henri Leconte


Saturday, 23rd of May
13:00 Emílio Sanchez VS Thomas Enqvist
14:30 Henri Leconte VS Gilad Bloom
16:00 Paul Haarhuis VS Sergi Bruguera
17:30 Marcelo Rios VS Fernando Meligeni


Sunday, 24th of May
13:00 Doubles Exhibition
14:30 3rd and 4th Place
16:00 Final

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Thursday's Results

Paul Haarhuis d Emílio Sanchez 7-6 6-0
Fernando Meligeni d Henri Leconte 6-4 6-2
Thomas Enqvist d Sergi Bruguera 6-4 6-4
Gilad Bloom d Marcelo Rios 6-0 6-3 .....

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Thursday's Results

Paul Haarhuis d Emílio Sanchez 7-6 6-0
Fernando Meligeni d Henri Leconte 6-4 6-2
Thomas Enqvist d Sergi Bruguera 6-4 6-4
Gilad Bloom d Marcelo Rios 6-0 6-3 .....

This was on clay, wasn't it?
Other than the Meligeni result, these are NOT what I would have expected on that surface.

[CtEkM8Vq]

This was on clay, wasn't it?
Other than the Meligeni result, these are NOT what I would have expected on that surface.

:agree:

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Enqvist Takes Sao Paulo Title

Thomas Enqvist won his first ATP Champions Tour title on Sunday after beating home favourite Fernando Meligeni 7-6(3), 6-3 in the final of the AOC Grand Champions Brazil in Sao Paulo.

The Swede, playing in his first event on the circuit for former World No.1's, Grand Slam finalists and Davis Cup champions, played so well that his opponent even compared his level to that of Pete Sampras.

The first set was a close-fought affair, with both players hitting solidly from the baseline and holding serve with ease. Enqvist eventually captured a break at 5-5 to leave himself serving for the first set but Meligeni used his huge leftie forehand to great effect, breaking immediately back to force a tie-break. Enqvist’s powerful first serve came to his rescue and the Swede raced to an unassailable 6-3 lead, clinching the set with an ace down the middle. Enqvist went on to dominate the second set, breaking in the first Meligeni service game to take a 3-0 lead. With the support of his home fans behind him Meligeni battled on, but it was to no avail.

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Friday 22nd May 2009 - Starting at 5pm
Henri Leconte d. Marcelo Rios 6-4, 6-3
Fernando Meligeni d. Gilad Bloom 6-2, 6-3
Sergi Bruguera d. Emilio Sanchez 7-6(2), 6-2
Thomas Enqvist d. Paul Haarhuis 6-2, 6-4

Saturday 23rd May 2009 - Starting at 1pm
Fernando Meligeni d. Marcelo Rios 6-2, 6-1
Henri Leconte d. Gilad Bloom 6-1, 6-2
Thomas Enqvist d. Emilio Sanchez 6-4, 7-5
Paul Haarhuis d. Sergi Bruguera 6-4, 6-3

Sunday 24th May 2009 - Starting at 1pm
Henri Leconte d. Paul Haarhuis 6-2, 6-4
Thomas Enqvist d. Fernando Meligeni 7-6(3), 6-3

STANDINGS

Group A
................Matches won/lost (sets)
Fernando Meligeni ....3-0 (6-0)
Henri Leconte .........2-1 (4-2)
Gilad Bloom ............1-2 (2-4)
Marcelo Rios ...........0-3 (0-6)

Group B
.................Matches won/lost (sets)
Thomas Enqvist .......3-0 (6-0)
Paul Haarhuis ..........2-1 (4-2)
Sergi Bruguera ........1-2 (2-4)
Emilio Sanchez ........0-3 (0-6)

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Thursday 13th August

17h00 Nuno Marques vs Marc Goellner
18h00 Thomas Muster vs Henri Leconte
21h00 Marcelo Rios vs Greg Rusedski
22h30 Stefan Edberg vs Fernando Meligeni

Friday, 14th August

18h00 Exibição de Pares | Doubles Exhibithions
21h00 3º e 4º Lugar | 3rd and 4th Place
22h30 Final

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Thursday 13th August, 2009 -
Marc Kevin Goellner d. Nuno Marques 4-6, 4-1 retired
Henri Leconte d. Thomas Muster 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-3
Greg Rusedski d. Marcelo Rios 6-2, 6-4
Stefan Edberg d. Fernando Meligeni 6-3, 6-2

Friday 14th August, 2009 -
Fernando Meligeni d. Marc Kevin Goellner 6-7(9), 6-1, 14-12
The Final: Greg Rusedski d. Stefan Edberg 6-3, 6-4

STANDINGS

Group Vale Do Lobo
Matches won/lost (sets)
Stefan Edberg 3-1 (6-3)
Fernando Meligeni 2-1 (4-3)
Henri Leconte 1-2 (3-5)
Thomas Muster 0-3 (2-6)

Group Caixa Geral Depositos
Matches won/lost (sets)
Greg Rusedski 4-0 (8-0)
Marc Kevin Goellner 2-1 (4-3)
Nuno Marques 1-2 (3-4)
Marcelo Rios 0-3 (0-6)

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I thought a new name for the tour deserved a brand-new thread. It's no longer the BlackRock tour -- it's under the ATP umbrella.

Barcelona opens the ATP Champions Tour with four Grand Slam champions. A total of four Grand Slam champions head the list of players due to participate in the ATP Champions Cup seniors tournament set to take place in the days prior to this year’s Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. Spain’s Albert Costa – Roland Garros champion in 2002 – is the leading home hope, and will be joined by a trio of Wimbledon winners including Pat Cash of Australia (champion in 1987), Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands (1996) and Germany’s Michael Stich (1991).

The draw for the tournament, which also serves as the opener to the 2009 ATP Champions Tour circuit, has paired three of the four Slam champions – Costa, Cash and Krajicek – together in one group along with Swede Anders Jarryd. In the other group, last year’s finalist Stich is joined by Spain’s Félix Mantilla, Cedric Pioline of France and Sweden’s Magnus Gustafsson.

The tournament will be broadcast on Teledeporte and TV3 and is staged in a round-robin format. The top players from each group will face off in the final on Sunday 19th April, after the third place play-off match which is due to start at 1pm on the centre court of the RCT-Barcelona-1899.

The order of play for the first day on Thursday 16th April sees Gustaffson take on Mantilla at 1pm, followed by Costa vs. Cash, Jarryd vs. Krajicek and Stich vs. Pioline.

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Edberg Targets Chang Revenge

Twenty years ago, a 17-year-old Michael Chang defeated Stefan Edberg in the final of the French Open. This week in Paris - the scene of Chang’s greatest triumph - Edberg will have his chance for revenge when they both play in the 6th Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy.

Held at the beautiful Paris Racing Club in the Bois de Boulogne, the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy, which begins on Thursday and concludes on Sunday, is one of the longest running and most prestigious events on the ATP Champions Tour calender. The 2009 event boasts its strongest ever line-up of clay court legends. Defending champion Edberg will have to battle past four French Open Champions and three French men if he is to retain the title he won last year. The most hotly anticipated match of the week is undoubtedly the Group B meeting of Edberg and Chang on Friday afternoon. The Swede still counts his Roland Garros final loss against Chang as the biggest disappointment of his career.

“Obviously the toughest loss has to be the French Open in 1989,” confirmed Edberg. “It wasn't so tough at the time when I lost because I thought I would have more chances to win it. That didn’t happen.”