Fabrice Santoro to Replace Rusedski in London

Written by: Staff on 23rd November 2011

Fabrice Santoro to Replace Rusedski in London

Fabrice Santoro of France returns the ball to Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands during his match against Fabrice Santoro of France at the gala tournament Tennis Classics in Papp Laszlo Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, 29 October 2011. Santoro defeated Krajicek. EPA/IMRE FOLDI |

Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, a player long known as the ‘Magician’ of the tennis world, is to make his debut on the ATP Champions Tour at the AEGON Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall next month. He will replace Britain’s Greg Rusedski, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of a foot injury he sustained at a Champions Tour event in Santiago earlier this month.

Famed for his unorthodox playing style and crowd-pleasing trickery, Tahiti-born Santoro not only holds the record for the most appearances in singles competition at Grand Slam events (70), but also achieved the incredible feat of being the only male player to have competed in Grand Slams events in four different decades, from the 1989 French Open to the 2010 Australian Open.

“I am very excited to be playing on the ATP Champions Tour for the first time in London at the AEGON Masters Tennis,” Santoro said. “I have been looking forward to having the chance to play on this Tour and I feel lucky to be able to do this at the Royal Albert Hall. I have heard from many of the players what an incredible venue and event it is, and I look forward to experiencing that and also having the chance to play again with some of my old friends and rivals.”

Santoro will take Rusedski’s place in Group A of the ATP Champions Tour competition, meaning he faces round robin match-ups against charismatic Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui and British favorite Tim Henman. Group B pitches 2010 AEGON Masters Tennis Champion Goran Ivanisevic against former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis and 1999 Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist.

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”

Topics: Fabrice Santoro