Cedric Pioline will have the chance for revenge against Pete Sampras after ending John McEnroe’s hopes of a fifth BlackRock Masters Tennis title at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Pioline, 39, put in an impressive display of serving to record a 6-3, 6-4 victory over McEnroe in front of a packed crowd of nearly 4000 fans. The Frenchman took just one hour and 15 minutes to beat his American opponent 6-3, 6-4 and now moves into first position in Group B. On Saturday, he will face Sampras, the man he lost to in the 1993 US Open final and the 1997 Wimbledon final. If Pioline wins, Sampras will be going home empty-handed.
“Those two Grand Slam finals belong to the past but of course I wish I could have won at least one of them,” said Pioline. “It’s going to be fun because I haven’t played against Pete for eight or ten years and if I win it will be revenge for me.
“The way Pete’s serving and the way he’s hitting the ball, he probably could be in the top 20 or top 30 in the world today. But I’m playing good and I’m serving good so I think I have a good chance too and if I win I’ll be in Sunday’s final which would be special for me.”
McEnroe, who is ten year’s Pioline’s senior, showed clear signs of frustration throughout a match in which his opponent dominated with his thunderous serve, hitting 12 aces in total. Pioline went ahead early in the first set, breaking early on to lead 4-1 and serving out the set in impressive fashion. The second set was a tighter affair, with McEnroe managing to stay level until 3-3 when his opponent produced a scorching backhand winner to take a 4-3 lead. The break of serve proved to be decisive and from that point the Frenchman never looked back. He fittingly clinched the match with an ace down the centre line, at which point McEnroe held up his hands in surrender.
“It was one of those days when you hit the ball and everything goes in so that’s a great feeling for me,” said Pioline.
“I served very well and I felt good moving side to side. John’s always in good shape and I think he was playing very good tennis but today I was just a little bit better.”
Pioline will now play Pete Sampras on Saturday afternoon in a match that will decide who will top Group A and progress to Sunday’s final. The two men met nine times during their ATP Tour careers and Pioline is yet to notch up a victory against the 14 time Grand Slam champion Sampras. The Frenchman will have more than a place in the final to play for on Saturday as he will also be seeking revenge against the man who denied him his two best chances of Grand Slam success, beating him in both the 1993 US Open and 1997 Wimbledon finals.
In the first match of Thursday’s afternoon session last year’s BlackRock Masters runner up Guy Forget toppled Pat Cash 6-4, 4-6, 10-2 (Champions’ Tie Break) to move to second place in Group B.
The event is being covered by ITV4 in the UK, and matches are also being streamed live on the ITV website, ITV.com. Click here to access the live stream http://www.itv.com/sport/tennis/default.html.
ITV4 TRANSMISSION TIMES
Friday 18:00 – 21:30 Saturday 12.30 – 17.00 (19.30 Match on Red Button) Sunday 13.00 – 17:00
For tickets to the BlackRock Masters Tennis, or for further information, please call the box office on: +44 (0) 208 233 5882, or visit the official website.
Corporate Hospitality packages are also available. For more information, please call: +44 (0) 208 233 5854.
RESULTS – Thursday 4th December
Guy Forget d. Pat Cash 6-4, 4-6, 10-2 (Champions’ Tie Break) Cedric Pioline d. John McEnroe 6-3, 6-4
LATEST GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
Matches won/lost (sets) Cedric Pioline 2-0 (4-0) Pete Sampras 1-0 (2-0) Jeremy Bates 0-1 (0-2 John McEnroe 0-2 (0-4).
Greg Rusedski 2-0 (4-1) Guy Forget 1-1 (2-3) Stefan Edberg 0-1 (1-2) Pat Cash 0-2 (1-4).
ORDER OF PLAY (subject to change)
Friday afternoon
1 Singles RR Edberg v Forget 2 Single Bates v Sampras 3 Doubles Bahrami/Pioline v McNamara/Murray
Friday evening
1 Singles RR Cash v Rusedski 2 Doubles Jarryd/Wilkinson v Black/Murray 3 Doubles Gullikson/Leconte v Fleming/Woodforde
Saturday afternoon
1 Singles RR Pioline v Sampras 2 Doubles TBC 3 Doubles TBC
Saturday evening
1 Singles RR Bates v McEnroe 2 Doubles TBC 3 Doubles TBC
Sunday
1 Singles Final LIVE TBC 2 Doubles Final
LIVE TBC 3 Doubles LIVE TBC
About BlackRock
BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At September 30, 2008, BlackRock’s AUM was $1.259 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 investment system, risk management and financial advisory services. Headquartered in New York City, as of September 30, 2008, the firm has approximately 5,800 employees in 22 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.
The BlackRock Masters Tennis: http://www.theblackrockmasters.com
BlackRock Tour of Champions:
http://www.blackrocktourofchampions.com
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