BlackRock Tour of Champions debutant Stefan Edberg made an impressive start to his champions tennis career today as he swept past Thomas Muster 6-2, 6-1 in just 59 minutes.
Edberg, who held a 10-0 record against Muster during their ATP careers, continued where he left off against the Austrian 12 years ago. From the outset, Edberg appeared to be in control of the match, breaking early to secure a 3-1 lead in the first set. The second set was an equally comfortable affair as Muster dumped a forehand in the net to lose his serve and go 3-0 down. From then on the result never looked in doubt as the Swede overwhelmed his opponent with winners on both wings from every corner of the court.
After the match, Edberg was pleased with his performance.
“I actually felt really good on the court today,” he said. “I’ve prepared quite a bit over the last 3 or 4 months because I wanted to enjoy my tennis here in Paris. It’s one of the best feelings to have when you strike the ball well and today I did that.”
The 42-year-old Edberg seemed to abandon the classic serve and volley style which won him two Wimbledon titles and looked at home battling from the baseline against former French Open Champion Muster.
“I felt really comfortable on the clay out there today,” said Edberg. “It’s a lot easier on your body and it gives you a little bit of extra time on the ball and to prepare yourself for the shot.”
“Paris is a great city and the atmosphere here is really good. Playing against these guys and seeing all the old faces is a bit like turning the clock back. It really is nice to be back.”
Elsewhere, Mikael Pernfors was forced to retire against Mats Wilander after rupturing his achilles tendon at 1-1 in the second set.
The Swede had looked to be turning the match around after dropping the first set to his compatriot, Wilander, who accompanied his injured opponent to hospital after the match. Pernfors, who had stepped in at short notice to replace the injured Bjorn Borg in the Paris draw, will now be replaced in Group B by 38-year-old Frenchman Guillaume Raoux.
Earlier in the day, two-time defending Champion Sergi Bruguera edged past a below par Cedric Pioline, 7-6, 6-2 and Guy Forget, who doubles up as the tournament director in Paris, beat countryman Henri Leconte 7-5, 7-5.
Matches are played over the best of three sets, with a Champions’ Tie-break (first to 10 points with a clear advantage of two) to decide the winner.
All the players in each group will play each other over the first three days, and the players finishing top of each group will meet each other in the final. Those finishing second in each group will contest the 3rd/4th place play-off.
Last month in the Algarve (Portugal) Marcelo Rios won the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD to overtake Michael Stich as No.1 player in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.
After Paris, the Tour will move on to Luxembourg for the first Vivium Victory Challenge (September 25-28), and then the AFAS Tennis Classics in Eindhoven (October 2-5). Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will renew their rivalry in Luxembourg (for a taster, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUa2ltLC0hw). In Eindhoven, former World No.1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang, and the 1996 Wimbledon finalist Malivai Washington will make the BlackRock Tour of Champions debuts.
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RESULTS – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
GROUP A
Stefan Edberg d. Thomas Muster 6-2, 6-1
Guy Forget d. Henri Leconte 7-5, 7-5
GROUP B
Sergi Bruguera d. Cedric Pioline 7-6(4), 6-2
Mats Wilander d. Mikael Pernfors 6-4, 1-1 ret.
LATEST GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
Matches won/lost (sets)
Stefan Edberg 1-0 (2-0)
Guy Forget 1-0 (2-0)
Henri Leconte 0-1 (0-2)
Thomas Muster 0-1 (0-2)
GROUP B
Matches won/lost (sets)
Sergi Bruguera 1-0 (2-0)
Mats Wilander 1-0 (2-0)
Mikael Pernfors 0-1 (0-2)
Cedric Pioline 0-1 (0-2)
SCHEDULE – FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
13:00 Henri Leconte/Thomas Muster
Not before 14:30 Stefan Edberg / Guy Forget
Followed by Sergi Bruguera/ Mats Wilander
Followed by Guillaume Raoux/ Cedric Pioline
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 seven events)
POS. PLAYER PTS
1 Marcelo Rios 1130
2 Goran Ivanisevic 970
3 Michael Stich 900
4 Thomas Muster 595
5 Anders Jarryd 525
6 Henri Leconte 500
7 Cedric Pioline 460
8= Marc-Kevin Goellner (WC) 455
8= Fernando Meligeni (WC) 455
10 Pat Cash 420
11= Patrick Rafter 400
11= Pete Sampras 400
13 Sergi Bruguera 360
14 Mikael Pernfors 330
15= Chris Wilkinson (WC) 325
16= Jaime Oncins (WC) 200
17= Jeremy Bates (WC) 125
17= Albert Costa 125
19 Joao Cunha e Silva (WC) 80
20= Magnus Larsson 80
20= John McEnroe 80
20= Andrei Cherkasov 80
23= Bjorn Borg 60
23= Carl Uwe Steeb 60
23= Jaime Yzaga 60
23= Alladin Karagoz (WC) 60
23= Andrei Chesnokov 60
23= Guillermo Vilas 60
WC denotes Wild Card.
The BlackRock Tour of Champions Calendar 2008
Belfast, Northern Ireland – February 21-24 (Tennis Legends)
Champion: 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)
Champion: Patrick Rafter; Runner-up: Michael Stich
Algarve, Portugal – August 5-8 (Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD)
Champion: Marcelo Rios ; Runner-up : Goran Ivanisevic
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)
Macao, China – November 20 (Special Event)
London, UK – December 2-7 (BlackRock Masters Tennis)
OTHER INFO
About BlackRock
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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.
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