Pete Sampras needed all of his famed power, skill and experience to scrape past home favourite Fernando Meligeni and make a winning start to his BlackRock Tour of Champions career in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Thursday.
Sampras and Meligeni came into the match with a career head-to-head of 1-1, and it was immediately clear that the American would have his work cut out in front of a partisan, capacity crowd at the WTC Golden Hall.
The American broke Meligeni in the first game before holding serve to take the set 6-3, but Meligeni hit back to break the former Word No.1 at 2-2 in the second. With an ace, Meligeni closed out the second set 6-4. In the Champions’ Tie-break Sampras started strongly and quickly took a 7-3 lead, closing out the match 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 (Champions’ Tie-break).
“I was told that people are very passionate about sports here and that there are many tennis fans in Sao Paulo,” said Sampras.
“It was pleasure to play here. They had never had the chance to see me play live before, so I’m just happy to be here. The court is fast so it was hard to adjust with only one match, but I’m sure I will be better tomorrow.”
For Meligeni, it was a special experience to play the 14-time Grand Slam champion in front of the Brazilian’s own fans.
“It is an honour to play Pete Sampras in Brazil,” he said.
“The guy is living legend, probably the best tennis player ever seen. It was a lot of fun to play in front of my home crowd once again. I could off the energy of the crowd and I think I was able to put up a good show for the fans. It is quite tough to play a guy like Pete on hard courts. His shots come fast and heavy and you don’t have much time to react. His serve is one of the best I have ever had to return and his ball placement is just incredible. I can’t say enough good things about his game.”
Chilean Marcelo Rios also opened his campaign at the BlackRock Tour of Champions even in Sao Paulo with a win. The former World No.1 showed all of his talent to dismiss Russia’s Andrei Cherkasov 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes. Rios, who is currently No.3 in the 2008 South African Airways Tour of Champions Rankings, could gain the lead if he wins the title in Sao Paulo.
“I think that I played well for my first match here but there is still some room for improvement. Tomorrow’s match against Jaime (Oncins) will be good fun. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of playing a Brazilian in Sao Paulo,” said Rios.
Earlier, local favourite Oncins defeated Peruvian Jaime Yzaga 6-4, 6-4, while Marc-Kevin Goellner overcame Thomas Muster 6-2, 6-4.
RESULTS, THURSDAY 19TH JUNE, 2008
Marc Goellner d. Thomas Muster 6-2, 6-4
Jaime Oncins d. Jaime Yzaga 6-4, 6-4
Marcelo Rios d. Andrei Cherkasov 6-3, 6-2
Pete Sampras d. Fernando Meligeni 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 (Champions’ Tie-break)
LATEST GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP THOMAZ KOCH
Marc Goellner 1-0 (2-0)
Pete Sampras 1-0 (2-1)
Fernando Meligeni 0-1 (1-2)
Thomas Muster 0-1 (0-2)
GROUP CARLOS KIRMAYR
Jaime Oncins 1-0 (2-0)
Marcelo Rios 1-0 (2-0)
Jaime Yzaga 0-1 (0-2)
Andrei Cherkasov 0-1 (0-2)
ORDER OF PLAY, FRIDAY 20TH JUNE, 2008
17h00
Jaime Yzaga vs. Andrei Cherkasov
18h30
Fernando Meligeni vs. Thomas Muster
20h00
Marcelo Rios vs. Jaime Oncins
21h30
Pete Sampras vs. Marc Goellner
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2008 TOUR OF CHAMPIONS RANKINGS (after four events)
POS. PLAYER PTS
1 Michael Stich 650
2 Anders Jarryd 525
3 Marcelo Rios 400
4 Pat Cash 340
5= Thomas Muster 330
5= Mikael Pernfors 330
7 Goran Ivanisevic 260
8 Marc-Kevin Goellner (WC) 250
9 Henri Leconte 240
10= Chris Wilkinson (WC) 200
10= Cedric Pioline 200
12= Jeremy Bates (WC) 125
12= Albert Costa 125
14= Sergi Bruguera 80
14= Magnus Larsson 80
14= John McEnroe 80
17= Bjorn Borg 60
17= Carl Uwe Steeb 60
WC denotes Wild Card.
The BlackRock Tour of Champions Calendar 2008
Belfast, Northern Ireland – February 21-24 (Tennis Legends) – Champions: Anders Jarryd; Runner-up: Mikael Pernfors
Barcelona, Spain – April 24-27 (Champions Cup ’08) – Champion: Marcelo Rios; runner-up: Michael Stich
Rome, Italy – May 10-11 – Champion: Thomas Muster; runner-up: Goran Ivanisevic
Hamburg, Germany – May 14-17 (BlackRock Tennis Classic)
Champion: Michael Stich; Runner-up: Marc-Kevin Goellner
Sao Paulo, Brazil – June 19-22 (Nossa Caixa Grand Champions Brasil)
Istanbul, Turkey – July 17-20
Graz, Austria – July 29-August 2 (s Tennis Masters)
Algarve, Portugal – August 5-8 (Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD)
Paris, France – September 18-21 (5e Trophée Jean-Luc Lagardère)
Luxembourg, Luxembourg – September 25-28
Eindhoven, Netherlands – October 2-5 (AFAS Tennis Classics)
Budapest, Hungary – October 9-12
Frankfurt, Germany – November 13-16 (klarmobil.de Champions Trophy)
Brussels, Belgium – November 20-23
London, UK – December 2-7 (BlackRock Masters Tennis)
OTHER INFO
BlackRock is a premier provider of global investment management, riskmanagement and advisory services to clients around the world. The rebrand from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions to the new BlackRock Tour of Champions,
stemmed from the merger between BlackRock and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers on the 29th September 2006. This merger united the predominantly US fixed income institutional heritage of BlackRock with that of Merrill Lynch
Investment Managers’ award-winning global retail equity franchise.
BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At December 31, 2007, BlackRock’s assets under management (AUM) was US$1.357 trillion. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. In addition, a growing number of institutional investors use BlackRock Solutions(r) investment system, risk management and financial advisory services. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2007, the firm has approximately 5,500 employees in 19 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.blackrock.com.
South Africa’s international flagship airline and the continent’s most awarded carrier, South African Airways is the official airline of the BlackRock Tour of Champions. Its modern fleet features a comfortable Economy Class cabin recently reconfigured for extra legroom and a Premium Business Class cabin featuring the airline’s award-winning, lie-flat seat. Complimentary South African wines, inspired cuisine and personal on-demand entertainment for all travellers make the trip to Africa fly by. Built on a venerable 72-year history of bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world, the airline’s network is unsurpassed on the continent – connecting travellers to more than 20 destinations within South Africa and more than 20 cities across Africa. As a recent member to the worldwide Star Alliance, South African Airways is now able to offer its customers 852 destinations in 152 countries and more than 15,500 flights daily.
For the Latest News, Features and Updates from the BlackRock Tour of Champions: www.blackrocktourofchampions.com
