Istanbul Title Catapults Ivanisevic To No.1

Goran Ivanisevic won the inaugural Turkcell Legends Cup in Istanbul, Turkey to take his first BlackRock Tour of Champions title of 2008 and jump to No.1 in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.
A capacity crowd generated an electric atmosphere for the final, which Ivanisevic won 6-4, 6-4 against Fernando Meligeni of Brazil.
The match was closer than the scoreline suggested, but the Ivanisevic serve was the deciding factor.  In the first set, the two players exchanged breaks of serve before Ivanisevic took the decisive advantage at 4-4. Meligeni kept fighting in  the second set and made the match competitive, but again Ivanisevic broke the Meligeni serve and from then on the outcome was never in doubt.
“I played really good today and I really had a great time,” said Ivanisevic.
“It’s been such a well-organised tournament and everybody has been so welcoming and kind. I’m really grateful to play here and I hope the tournament exists next year and I hope to be here. I’m happy to be number one (in the rankings), that’s really nice. But there’s still a lot of tournaments and a lot of competition between now and then but if I play like this then it’s definitely possible (that I could finish the year No.1).”
Meligeni was disappointed to lose, but not surprised, having lost all of his three meetings with Ivanisevic on the ATP circuit.
“Always when I play Goran it’s very tough and he served unbelievably and put me under a lot of pressure,” said Meligeni.
“I think it was a good match and it was fun but I was under pressure all the time and he was definitely the deserving winner today, he played better. It’s an honour for me to be playing here and competing with these guys on the circuit.  This week has been unbelievable with great hospitality and a great welcome here in Istanbul. I would love to have the chance to come back.”
In the 3rd/4th place play-off, Cedric Pioline defeated Thomas Muster 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break).
Next, the BlackRock Tour of Champions moves on to two of the most popular and long-standing tour-dates –  Graz, Austria for the s Tennis Masters (July 29 – August 2) and then Algarve, Portugal for the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD (August 5-8).
These are exciting times for the Tour, with former World No.1’s Pete Sampras Sao Paulo, London),  Stefan Edberg (Paris, London) and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Eindhoven) all joining the circuit for World No.1’s, Grand Slam finalists and Davis Cup winners in 2008.
The 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang  and 1996 Wimbledon finalist Malivai Washington also announced that they will join Kafelnikov at the AFAS Tennis Classics in Eindhoven, October 2-5.
Ivanisevic, Muster, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Marcelo Rios and Michael Stich will also be back in action as the year progresses.
To go inside the Borg/McEnroe rivalry and watch an exclusive video, click here: http://www.blackrocktourofchampions.com
RESULTS – SUNDAY, 20 JULY, 2008
Cedric Pioline d. Thomas Muster 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break)
Goran Ivanisevic d. Fernando Meligeni 6-4, 6-4
FINAL GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
Matches won/lost (sets)
Fernando Meligeni                              3-0 (6-0)
Cedric Pioline                     2-1 (5-3)
Sergi Bruguera                    1-2 (3-4)
Alladin Karagoz                   0-3 (0-6)
Matches won/lost (sets)
GROUP B
Goran Ivanisevic                  3-0 (6-1)
Thomas Muster                    2-1 (5-3)
Pat Cash                                               1-2 (2-5)
Andrei Chesnokov                              0-3 (2-6)
BLACKROCK TOUR OF CHAMPIONS POINTS ALLOCATION
Winner –                400 points
Finalist –                250 points
3rd place –            200 points
4th place –            125 points
5/6th place –         80 points
7/8th place –         60 points
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2008 TOUR OF CHAMPIONS RANKINGS (after six events)
POS.       PLAYER                                                PTS
1              Goran Ivanisevic                  660
2              Michael Stich                        650
2=           Marcelo Rios                        650
4              Anders Jarryd                       525
5              Thomas Muster                    515
6              Pat Cash                                               420
7=           Pete Sampras                      400
7=           Cedric Pioline                 400
9              Fernando Meligeni                              375
10=         Mikael Pernfors                   330
10=         Marc-Kevin Goellner (WC)                330
12           Henri Leconte                      240
13=         Chris Wilkinson (WC)         200
13=         Jaime Oncins                       200
15           Sergi Bruguera               160
16=         Jeremy Bates (WC)             125
16=         Albert Costa                          125
18=         Magnus Larsson                  80
18=         John McEnroe                      80
18=         Andrei Cherkasov                               80
21=         Bjorn Borg                                             60
21=         Carl Uwe Steeb                   60
21=         Jaime Yzaga                                        60
21=         Alladin Karagoz (WC)        60
21=         Andrei Chesnokov                              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)
Champion: Pete Sampras; Runner-up: Marcelo Rios
Istanbul, Turkey – July 17-20
Champion: Goran Ivanisevic; Runner-up: Fernando Meligeni
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
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