John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and James Blake came together for a press conference today ahead of the Venetian® Macao Tennis Showdown 2008. This was a unique occasion, as it’s the first time all four stars have come together at a Press Conference at the same time.
The event, which takes place on November 20th at the Cotai Strip® CotaiArena™ will run as follows:
Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe - 1 Tie-Break Set
Followed by
Roger Federer vs James Blake - Best-of-Three Tie-Break Sets
Followed by
Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe and James Blake - A Ten Point Doubles Tie Breaker
“I am very excited about playing doubles with Roger, James and John, and playing singles against John is always special due to our great rivalry," said Borg.
The Venetian® Macao Tennis Showdown takes place on Thursday November 20th starting at 7pm, with entertainment from 6.30pm featuring the legendary Danny Diaz.
There are just a few tickets left for sale, which can be bought at the door.
SAMPRAS DRAWN TO FACE MCENROE AT BLACKROCK TENNIS MASTERS
Pete Sampras has been drawn to face John McEnroe in the round-robin stages of the BlackRock Masters Tennis, which takes place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 2-7 December.
The pair have been drawn into Group A with Britain’s Jeremy Bates and Cedric Pioline. Sampras beat Pioline in the 1993 US Open final and the 1997 Wimbledon final.
Group B will pit former Wimbledon champions Stefan Edberg and Goran Ivanisevic against each other, along with the 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski and big-serving Frenchman, Guy Forget.
The BlackRock Masters Tennis marks the first time that Sampras will have set foot in England since his final Wimbledon in 2002, and McEnroe is ready to face him.
“This is a message for Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, Goran Ivanisevic and all of you other guys. I’m not coming to London to lose,” said McEnroe.
Sampras and McEnroe are scheduled to face off in the evening session on Wednesday 3rd December. During their competitive playing careers they played each other three times, with Sampras winning all of them, but McEnroe has been in form recently, winning the BlackRock Tour of Champions event in Luxembourg. He will need to be at his best against Sampras, who made a successful debut on the Tour in Sao Paulo, Brazil in June, beating Marcelo Rios in the final.
“Today, or 10 years from now, if I’m on the tennis court, I’ll still want to play well and win,” said Sampras, who played in the Doubles World Championships event at the Royal Albert Hall almost 20 years ago.
“I remember it (the Royal Albert Hall) being a great arena,” he added. “You could hear the glasses during the points with all the people drinking champagne, and everyone in their tuxedos. They really live it up there, so I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been back to London since my last Wimbledon. I hear a lot of good things about the event in London, so I’m excited and pretty pumped up about it. I hear the people there really support it and so I’m excited to go back and play tennis for them. ”
The players in each group will all play each other, with the top two in each group contesting the final.
As well as the singles draw, a high-quality doubles field will also entertain the crowds at the Royal Albert Hall. Henri Leconte, Pat Cash, Mansour Bahrami, Peter Fleming, Tom Gullikson, Mikael Pernfors and Chris Wilkinson are all scheduled to appear.
ITV To Broadcast Every Day Of The BlackRock Masters Tennis
ITV Sport will broadcast every day of the BlackRock Masters Tennis event, 2-7 December, bringing more of the action to television viewers than ever before.
Live coverage and highlights of the tournament will be shown on ITV4 and ITV.com throughout the event at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
ITV’s coverage will be presented by Craig Doyle with commentary from John Lloyd and Simon Reed.
Peter Worth, Tournament Chairman said “We are delighted to welcome ITV4 as our new host broadcaster for the BlackRock Masters Tennis and are excited that people will be able to follow matches and results throughout the week of the event through daily highlights shows and coverage. This is an exciting new phase for the BlackRock Masters Tennis in terms of the level of service that is being offered to our fans at home.”
Dave Fewings, ITV4 Controller said: “I’m thrilled that we are bringing the BlackRock Masters Tennis exclusively to ITV4 viewers. The event offers a great opportunity to watch some of the game’s great legends and is a brilliant addition to our growing portfolio of sport on ITV4.”
In addition to ITV4’s coverage, two matches will be broadcast exclusively live on ITV.com and via a new red button interactive service. The website will also feature behind the scenes video blogs and player interviews throughout the event.
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 , e-mail: blackrockmasters@imgworld.com or click here.
For media accreditation requests, please write to Julia Warne: julia.warne@imgworld.com
ORDER OF PLAY (subject to change)
Tuesday 2nd December
Afternoon session
1 Singles RR Forget v Rusedski
2 Doubles Bahrami/Cash v Leconte/McNamara
3 Doubles Black/Fleming v Jarryd/Pernfors
Evening session
1 Singles RR Edberg v Ivanisevic
2 Doubles Bahrami/Fleming v Gullikson/Jarryd
3 Doubles Black/Woodforde v Cash/Leconte
Wednesday 3rd December
Afternoon
1 Singles RR Bates v Pioline
2 Singles RR Edberg v Rusedski
3 Doubles Bahrami/Wilkinson v Gullikson/McNamara
Evening
1 Singles RR McEnroe v Sampras
2 Doubles Leconte/Woodforde v Jarryd/Pernfors
3 Doubles Gullikson/McNamara v Black/Fleming
Thursday 4th December
Afternoon
1 Singles RR Forget v Ivanisevic
2 Doubles Bahrami/Leconte v Cash/McNamara
3 Doubles Gullikson/Woodforde v Jarryd/Wilkinson
Evening
1 Singles RR McEnroe v Pioline
2 Doubles Rusedski/Wilkinson v Cash/Woodforde
3 Doubles Black/Leconte v Fleming/Pernfors
Friday 5th December
Afternoon
1 Singles RR Edberg v Forget
2 Single Bates v Sampras
3 Doubles Bahrami/Pioline v Pernfors/Wilkinson
Evening
1 Singles RR Ivanisevic v Rusedski
2 Doubles Bahrami/Jarryd v Fleming/McNamara
3 Doubles Cash/Woodforde v Black/Leconte
Saturday 6th December
Afternoon
1 Singles RR Pioline v Sampras
2 Doubles TBC
3 Doubles TBC
Evening
1 Singles RR Bates v McEnroe
2 Doubles TBC
3 Doubles TBC
Sunday 7th December
Afternoon
1 Singles Final TBC
2 Doubles Final TBC
3 Doubles TBC
