Tennis Greats to Play Royal Albert Hall

Written by: Staff on 3rd December 2013

Tennis Greats to Play Royal Albert Hall

epa02441301 Former professional tennis player Australia's Pat Rafter during his match against France's Henri Leconte at the ATP Champions Downunder tour, Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre in Sydney, Australia, on 11 November 2010. EPA/TRACEY NEARMY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

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