Henman To Meet Rusedski In London Masters

Written by: Staff on 9th November 2011

Henman To Meet Rusedski In London Masters

epa02624503 Tennis legend Tim Henman of Britain returns the ball during his BNP Paribas Zurich Open match against Henri Leconte of France at the ATP Champions Tour in Zurich, Switzerland, 09 March 2011. EPA/ALESSANDRO DELLA BELLA |

The AEGON Masters, held at London’s Royal Albert Hall in a venue more accustomed to presenting classical music concerts, is a popular draw. And this year British tennis fans in particular that attend the event – held November 30th to December 4th – will enjoy two bonuses.

First, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski will clash for the first time in London and the first time on the ATP Champions Tour. The British duo have been drawn into a round-robin group with recent Chengdu finalist Younes El Aynaoui in a six-man ATP Champions Tour field which also includes Goran Ivanisevic, Mark Philippoussis and Thomas Enqvist. Their only UK meetings took place at the National Championships in Telford in 1995 and 1996, with Henman winning both clashes in three sets.

Henman and Rusedski will face each other in the evening session on December 3rd. It will be their first meeting since the 2006 US Open, which Henman won. Henman led their career head-to-head 8-2, including a four-set win at the Australian Open in 2002, but Rusedski scored a notable straight sets triumph at the ATP World Tour Finals in 1998. Henman reached four Wimbledon semifinals, and three finals at The Queen’s Club, whilst Rusedski reached the 1997 US Open final.

“Tim and I shared a great rivalry throughout our careers and it will be really special to play each other in Britain for the first time in such a long time,” said Rusedski. “The Royal Albert Hall is an incredible place in which to play, and I am looking forward to it a lot.”

Henman was equally enthusiastic about the event, and the draw. “It helped both Greg and I in our careers to have each other there and it’s a shame that we didn’t have a chance to play each other more in Britain,” he said. “We never played each other at Queen’s or Wimbledon, so it’s great to be able to do so at the Royal Albert Hall. Hopefully the crowds will come out in numbers and will enjoy it as much as we will.”

And a second bonus for the fans will be something new for 2011, a separate four-man legends contest featuring John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash and Henri Leconte. They will face each other over a round-robin format. In addition, an all-star doubles line-up will be announced soon.

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”