STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS – ANDY RODDICK PREPARES FOR ROYAL ALBERT HALL BOW; TENNIS PODCAST REMEMBERS 1997

Written by: Staff on 2nd December 2014

STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS - ANDY RODDICK PREPARES FOR ROYAL ALBERT HALL BOW; TENNIS PODCAST REMEMBERS 1997

epa04390391 US tennis player Andy Roddick watches as Serena Williams of the US plays Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during the women's final match on the fourteenth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT |

STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS

THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR

3-7 DECEMBER

LONDON

Roddick Prepares For Royal Albert Hall Bow

Andy Roddick had yet to even embark on his professional tennis career in 1997, the year that John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg faced off at the Royal Albert Hall, their first meeting in London since the 1981 Wimbledon final.

But Roddick will make his debut at the Statoil Masters Tennis, an IMG-owned and staged event this week, competing in a six-man, round-robin ATP Champions Tour field. Former World No.1 Roddick has been drawn into a group with two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera and the 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier Malisse. Fernando Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open runner-up, will meet Britain’s Tim Henman and Thomas Enqvist.

“I have so many memories of London so when I had the opportunity to come back and play it was a pretty straightforward decision for me,” said Roddick. “The Royal Albert Hall is an iconic venue so that also had a lot to do with it. I’ve never been there before but I’ve seen the pictures of the event and the guys that I’ve spoken to said it’s a really fun event to be a part of.”

Andy Roddick of the US hits a return to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during their fourth round match on the ninth day of the 2012 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 04 September 2012. The US Open runs through Sunday 09 September 2012. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH

The American reached three Wimbledon finals and won the title at The Queen’s Club on four occasions. He will make his first appearance on Friday, facing Bruguera in singles in the afternoon and then joining forces with Henman in the evening to take on Ross Hutchins and Jamie Murray. Henman will open the tournament on Wednesday afternoon against Enqvist.

Elsewhere, McEnroe will return in an exhibition singles against Pat Cash on Thursday night. On Sunday evening, the Mylan WTT Smash Hits charity event will take place featuring McEnroe, Roddick, Henman, Sir Elton John, Billie Jean King, Kim Clijsters and Sabine Lisicki, will take place to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

To see pictures of the Royal Albert Hall being turned into a tennis arena, go to www.atpchampionstour.com

The full order of play is available here: http://www.statoilmasterstennis.com/schedule/

Tennis Podcast Remembers 1997

In the first of a series of daily shows from inside the Royal Albert Hall, the Tennis Podcast looks back on 1997, the year that the first Masters Tennis tournament was played in London.

What happened when Borg faced McEnroe again? Which tennis players were dominating the ATP and WTA tours? And how on earth did Flubber become the No.1 movie at the box office? All are discussed on the show, which is downloadable now from iTunes and available from the links below.

Presented by David Law and Catherine Whitaker, the Tennis Podcast is a free, downloadable tennis radio show. A new edition will be available each day during the Statoil Masters Tennis tournament, with special tennis guests throughout the week.

How To Listen

In one click: http://goo.gl/HFbazx

iPads, iPhones, iPods, subscribe/Listen on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-tennis-podcast/id530971441

Android and others – RSS Feed: http://www.thetennispodcast.libsyn.com/rss

Follow on Twitter – Tennis Podcast: @TennisPodcast

About Statoil (UK) Ltd

Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 36 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, we are committed to accommodating the world’s energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. We are headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approx. 23,000 employees worldwide, and are listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges. More information is available at www.Statoil.com.

2014 Mylan WTT Smash Hits – Organizations & Charities

About Elton John AIDS Foundation UK (EJAF)

At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) we believe that AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993. The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than £190m ($300) million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. Over the past year alone, the UK Foundation has provided support for over 2.4m people to get an HIV test and a further 185,000 very vulnerable people living with HIV to access lifesaving care.

Topics: Andy Roddick, Royal Albert Hall, Statoil Masters Tennis, tennis update

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10sBalls_com says:

December 2, 2014 at 6:27 pm

#STATOILMASTERSTENNIS – @andyroddick PREPARES FOR #ROYALALBERTHALL BOW; #TENNIS PODCAST REMEMBERS 1997- http://t.co/tzoG2HofvY