Image: Pat Rafter
Goran Ivanisevic arrived in London on Tuesday, ready to take part in the Statoil Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall, and finally realize his football dream.
The Croatian will take on Greg Rusedski in the opening match of the tournament at 1pm on Wednesday, and then jump in a car up to the Hawthorns to see his British football team West Bromwich Albion take on Manchester City.
Posing for photographs outside the Royal Albert Hall, Ivanisevic said:
“It’s always good to see this beautiful [Royal] Albert Hall here and the atmosphere inside. I get to see the guys, my friends. It’s a great field this year, so I hope there will be good crowds and everyone enjoys it. It’s an honour to play here.”
On Saturday night, Ivanisevic will reprise his 2001 Wimbledon final match-up when he takes on Pat Rafter, but before then, he has his trip to the home of West Brom to look forward to.
“It’s my first time and it’s very exciting,” he said. “We’re playing a great team, Manchester City, and hopefully we are going to win for my first game. A draw is not an option, we need to win, at least 1-0. I’d be satisfied with 1-0. There’s been a lot of ups and downs with this team, but lately they’ve been playing very well, steady. We have a great team, a great manager. We’re getting better and better. Everything is going fine. I think we can cause damage to a lot of big teams.”
Also on Tuesday, Ivanisevic recorded a radio interview with Colin Murray, due to air on Wednesday at 11am on the ‘Murray Meets’ show on TalkSport.
Elsewhere on Wednesday afternoon, Jeremy Bates takes on Henri Leconte, with Thomas Enqvist and Wayne Ferreira up against Jamie Murray and Fabrice Santoro in the doubles.
In the evening, Pat Rafter, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Mark Philippoussis and the ever-popular Mansour Bahrami will star in a Grand Opening Night to benefit the tournament’s 2013 charity, Best Beginnings.
Henman and Philippoussis will clash in singles, while Rusedski, Rafter and Bahrami take part in doubles. A private drinks reception will also be attended by tennis legends and sporting celebrities, with 20% of hospitality sales for the evening going to Best Beginnings, the child health charity.
ORDER OF PLAY
ATP Champions Tour Singles
Group A Henman, Philippoussis, Santoro
Group B Ivanisevic, Rafter, Rusedski
Legends Singles
Group A Bruguera, Ferreira, McEnroe
Group B Bates, Leconte, Wilander
Wednesday 4th December
At 1pm
Ivanisevic v Rusedski
Bates v Leconte
Enqvist/McNamara v Ferreira/Santoro
At 7.30pm
Henman v Philippoussis
Bahrami/Rafter v Murray/Rusedski
Thursday 5th December
At 1pm
Leconte v Wilander
Rafter v Rusedski
Bruguera/Ivanisevic v Philippoussis/Santoro
At 7.30pm
Ferreira v McEnroe
Bahrami/Castle v Bates/McNamara
Friday 6th December
At 1pm
Philippoussis v Santoro
Bates v Wilander
Bahrami/Castle v Ferreira/McNamara
At 7.30pm
LIVE ON ITV4
Bruguera v McEnroe
Enqvist/Ivanisevic v Henman/Murray
Saturday 7th December
At 1pm
LIVE ON ITV4
Henman v Santoro
Bruguera v Ferreira
Bahrami/McEnroe v McNamara/Wilander
At 7.30pm
LIVE ON ITV4
Ivanisevic v Rafter
Bates/Murray v Leconte/Rusedski
Sunday 8th December
At 12 noon
LIVE ON ITV4
Legends Singles Final
Doubles Exhibition
At 5pm
LIVE ON ITV4
ATP Champions Tour Singles Final
Doubles Exhibition
*All timings may be subject to change and are dependent on the length of play. The Management reserves the right to alter the Order of Play at any time.
Topics: 10sballs.com, 2001 Wimbledon, Atp, Goran Ivanisevic, Greg Rusedski, Henri Leconte, Jamie Murray, Jeremy Bates, Mansour Bahrami, Mark Philippoussis, Pat Rafter, Royal Albert Hall, Statoil Masters Tennis, Tennis, Tennis News, Thomas Enqvist, Wayne Ferreira