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Seniors Frankfurt: Champions hit purple patch at Kia Trophy; Rios remains unbeaten |
November 17, 2006
Day one of the Kia Champions Trophy in Frankfurt brought some of the highest quality tennis ever seen on the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions.
In the day’s opening match, unbeaten Marcelo Rios continued his incredible run of success with a 7-6(1), 7-5 win over Anders Jarryd, but the Swede – 15 years Rios’s junior – had led 3-love with two breaks in the first set, and served for the set at 5-4.
Then, John McEnroe overcame Pat Cash in a match of sublime quality. The American won 6-3, 6-4, but the victory was far from straightforward. There were countless Deuces in the one hour, 40-minute battle, and several rallies of touch and grace that brought spectators to their feet.
Finally, Goran Ivanisevic came from behind to beat his regular nemesis Paul Haarhuis 4-6, 7-6(1), 10-8 (Champions’ Tie-Break).
Ivanisevic finished the match with a stunning low, backhand volley-winner that even he could not believe he had hit.
“If I had hit volleys like that in the ’92, ’94 and ’98 Wimbledon finals I would have won one of them!” he said, afterwards.
“If I had lost this match I would have been upset, but the quality of tennis in the Champions’ Tie-break from both of us was unbelievable.”
Earlier, Jarryd had pushed Rios all the way, and the Chilean admitted that he was feeling the strain of trying to complete his goal of going the whole year unbeaten.
“Mentally and physically I’m feeling a little bit tired,” said Rios.
“Everyone thinks this is easy for me, but when everyone is trying to beat you it’s tougher than for the other guys.
“He started really good but I never thought I was going to lose. Maybe when I was 3-love down I was in trouble in a bit of trouble but I thought I would still win.”
For Jarryd, who recently won the Swedish National doubles title with a partner 23 years his junior, this was another example of how age doesn’t matter if you keep yourself in shape.
“I’m 45, I’ve been around for a long time, but I was serving well today - I hit a lot of good shots,” he said.
“The fast, indoor court perhaps suits me better than Marcelo – if you can attack, you can do some damage. I started off really well and he started a bit slowly, so I thought ‘maybe I have a small chance here’. I couldn’t serve out for the first set at 5-4, which was a shame. If I had done that I would have had at least a chance in the Champions’ Tie-break.”
In the final match of the day, Carl-Uwe Steeb scored a sensational comeback win against Thomas Muster. The German saved three match points at 3-6 down in the second set tie-break to triumph 2-6, 7-6(7), 10-5 (Champions’ Tie-Break). Steeb and Muster were still battling it out at well past midnight..
Matches are played over the best of three sets with the third set taking the form of a Champions’ Tie-Break where the first player to reach ten points, and lead by two clear points, is the winner.
The tournament is played over a round-robin format with the top player in each group meeting in Sunday’s final.
The BlackRock Masters sees the top ten players in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings compete for a $100,000 winners’ prize. The field at the Royal Albert Hall in London will increase to 12 with the addition of two wild card invitations.
To be eligible to compete on the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions, players must have been either a World No.1 during their competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist or champion, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active as an singles player on the ATP circuit. Each event can also invite two players of its choice to take wild cards..
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RESULTS FOR THURSDAY 16TH NOVEMBER
Marcelo Rios d. Anders Jarryd 7-6(1), 7-5
John McEnroe d. Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4
Goran Ivanisevic d. Paul Haarhuis 4-6, 7-6(1), 10-8 (Champions’ Tie-Break)
Carl-Uwe Steeb d. Thomas Muster 2-6, 7-6(7), 10-5 (Champions’ Tie-Break)
STANDINGS AFTER DAY ONE
GROUP A
Matches won/lost (sets)
John McEnroe 1-0 (2-0)
Carl-Uwe Steeb 1-0 (2-1)
Pat Cash 0-1 (0-2)
Thomas Muster 0-1 (1-2)
GROUP B
Matches won/lost (sets)
Marcelo Rios 1-0 (2-0)
Goran Ivanisevic 1-0 (2-1)
Paul Haarhuis 0-1 (1-2)
Anders Jarryd 0-1 (0-2)
SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY 17th NOVEMBER, 2006
At 5pm CET
Goran Ivanisevic vs. Anders Jarryd
Marcelo Rios vs. Paul Haarhuis
Mansour Bahrami & Anders Jarryd vs. Peter McNamara and Goran Ivanisevic
John McEnroe vs. Thomas Muster
Pat Cash vs. Carl-Uwe Steeb |
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