Kafelnikov and Chang to clash on Champions Tour debuts in Eindhoven

Former World No.1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and the 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang will lock horns on their BlackRock Tour of Champions debuts in Eindhoven on Thursday.
Kafelnikov and Chang have been drawn into the same group for the round-robin stages of the AFAS Classics alongside the 2001 Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanisevic and co-Tournament Director Paul Haarhuis. Haarhuis’s former doubles partner Jacco Eltingh co-directs the event which began in 2002 and is one of the best and longest-running tournaments on the BlackRock Tour of Champions.
Kafelnikov retired from the ATP circuit having played more than 900 matches in an 11-year career. The Russian won the 1996 French Open, the 1999 Australian Open and an Olympic Gold medal in Sydney in 2000 before retiring in 2003.
Chang became the youngest male Grand Slam title winner in history when, at 17 years and three months, he lifted the French Open crown in 1989. The American memorably beat Ivan Lendl in the semifinals, hitting under-arm serves as his legs cramped. He overcame Stefan Edberg in the final.
Kafelnikov dominated Chang in their personal head-to-head, leading it 4-0. Their most-recent encounter took place at the 1999 French Open, which Kafelnikov won in four sets.
In the other group, defending champion Sergi Bruguera will take on the 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, Henri Leconte and the 1991 Wimbledon winner Michael Stich, who replaces the injured Malivai Washington.
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.
Last week in Luxembourg, John McEnroe won his first BlackRock Tour of Champions title in three years by taking the Vivium Victory Challenge.
After Eindhoven, the Tour moves on to the Tennis Classics in Budapest. It will be the first time that the BlackRock Tour of Champions has visited Hungary. McEnroe and Bjorn Borg will both be in action.
In the final event of the year, Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg will take on McEnroe and Ivanisevic in an eight-man field at the BlackRock Masters Tennis in London, December 2-7.
GROUP A (The Miracle)

Sergi Bruguera
Henri Leconte
Richard Krajicek
Michael Stich
GROUP B (Ndlovu)

Goran Ivanisevic
Michael Chang
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Paul Haarhuis
SCHEDULE
Thursday, 2nd October, 2008
At 3pm
P. Haarhuis vs. G. Ivanisevic
M. Stich vs. S. Bruguera
At 7pm
R. Krajicek vs. H. Leconte
Y. Kafelnikov vs. M. Chang
Friday, 3rd October, 2008
At 3pm
H. Leconte vs. S. Bruguera
P. Haarhuis vs. Y. Kafelnikov
At 7pm
R. Krajicek vs. M. Stich
G. Ivanisevic vs. M. Chang
Saturday 4th October – Afternoon session
At 1pm
H. Leconte vs. M. Stich
P. Haarhuis vs. M. Chang
Saturday 4th October – Evening session
At 6.30pm
G. Ivanisevic – Y. Kafelnikov
S. Bruguera – R. Krajicek
Sunday 5th October
1.45pm
3rd/4th place play-off
Final
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 ten events)
POS.       PLAYER                                                PTS
1              Marcelo Rios                                        1130
2              Goran Ivanisevic             970
3              Michael Stich                   900
4              Henri Leconte                      830
5        Cedric Pioline                            740
6              Thomas Muster                    655
7              Sergi Bruguera                    610
8              Anders Jarryd                        525
9        John McEnroe                     480
10=         Marc-Kevin Goellner (WC)                455
10=         Fernando Meligeni (WC)   455
12           Pat Cash                                                420
13=         Patrick Rafter                         400
13=         Pete Sampras                       400
13=   Stefan Edberg                      400
16           Mikael Pernfors                    330
17           Chris Wilkinson (WC)          325
18=         Jaime Oncins (WC)                              200
18=    Johny Goudenbour             200
20           Bjorn Borg                                              185
21=   Guy Forget                           125
21=         Jeremy Bates (WC)                             125
21=         Albert Costa                                          125
21=  Carl Uwe Steeb                           120
21= Guillermo Vilas                                            120
26=  Mats Wilander                        80
26=  Joao Cunha e Silva (WC)          80
26=         Magnus Larsson                   80
26=         Andrei Cherkasov                                80
26= Mansour Bahrami                  80
31=         Jaime Yzaga                                         60
31=         Alladin Karagoz (WC)          60
31=         Andrei Chesnokov                               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)
Champion: Stefan Edberg; Runner-up: Sergi Bruguera
Luxembourg, Luxembourg – September 25-28
Champion: John McEnroe; Runner-up: Henri Leconte
Eindhoven, Netherlands – October 2-5 (AFAS Tennis Classics)
Budapest, Hungary – October 9-12
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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