STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS – GONZALEZ OUTGUNS RODDICK ( THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB ) ; TEAM BILLIE JEAN WINS; RODDICK ‘HUMBLED’ BY WIMBLEDON HONOUR

Written by: Staff on 7th December 2014

STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS - GONZALEZ OUTGUNS RODDICK ( THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB ) ; TEAM BILLIE JEAN WINS; RODDICK 'HUMBLED' BY WIMBLEDON HONOUR |

Statoil Masters Tennis – Gonzalez Outguns Roddick; Team Billie Jean Wins; Roddick ‘Humbled’ by Wimbledon Honour

STATOIL MASTERS TENNIS

THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR

3-7 DECEMBER

LONDON

GONZALEZ OUTGUNS RODDICK TO TAKE TITLE

Fernando Gonzalez is the new Statoil Masters Tennis Champion after defeating Andy Roddick 6-4, 2-6,10-4 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.

In a battle between two of the biggest hitters tennis has ever seen, it was the Chilean that was able to use has weapons to greatest effect when it most mattered, hitting forehand winners from all corners of the court.

Gonzalez was delighted to win the title on his first ATP Champions Tour outing.

‘This is great to win this tournament,’ he said. ‘This week has been amazing and I enjoyed this match against Andy a lot. It was very tough, we had very long points, and my body will feel bad tomorrow!’

Overall though, he had a fabulous time at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘This is so fun because after you retire you never think you are going to be back on a court like this. I have enjoyed it really a lot,” he said.

Roddick had no excuses.

‘Fernando played great today,’ he said. ‘I kinda knew I would be in trouble if I had to play him because he’s still so good. But it was fun, I think the crowd enjoyed it and I certainly enjoyed my week here. I don’t know if you can ever prepare yourself for a venue like this. It’s one thing seeing it in the pictures, where it is impressive in its own right. But then to play it and experience it was a real treat for me.’

RODDICK ‘HUMBLED’ BY WIMBLEDON HONOUR

Andy Roddick said he felt ‘humbled’ after receiving the official Wimbledon tie on Thursday to mark his honorary membership of the All England Club.

The American, who ran Roger Federer agonisingly close before losing the 2004, 2005 and 2009 Wimbledon finals, told the Tennis Podcast just how much it meant to him.

“I was really humbled,” said Roddick, who joins greats such as Ken Rosewell, Tony Roche and Fred Stolle as honorary Wimbledon members who reached the final of The Championships but just fell short of the title. “There are a lot of things that we definitely take for granted having been in the tennis world over many years, but that was one where I was a little bit floored by it. It is something I didn’t expect at all, you never feel worthy or deserving of such a big honour, and to kind of go there the other day and go to members parts (of the club) that I had never been to before was very surreal. Taking my wife there and showing her where we walked out and everything was a really cool experience for me. It’s just an honour.”

Roddick was initially informed of his membership at the start of 2013, but this is the first occasion since he retired in 2012 that he has been able to return to the All England Club. Tim Henman took Roddick and his wife, Brooklyn, for tea with Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook, where he was presented with a number of gifts, including the official Wimbledon tie.

“I got the tie,” smiled Roddick. “I know Tim mentioned I have to learn how to tie it, and he’s accurate.”

Memberships are traditionally awarded to singles champions, but six-time doubles winners Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde were also honoured in 2000. Woodbridge explained how much it meant to them.

“We had already announced it would be our last year playing and that we would retire after the Sydney Olympics. The letter asked would we accept the committee’s offer of honorary membership? I was like, ‘so you really need to ask!?’ It’s the best. The greatest honour in the sport is to be a member of Wimbledon, the home of tennis. It means you had an impact on the sport.”

Also on day 5 of the Statoil Masters Tennis Podcast, Fernando Gonzalez talks about his win over Roddick and his job as a ‘super-coach’, and Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John joust in an x-rated press conference ahead of their Mylan World Team Tennis Smash Hits clash. Team Billie Jean (Kim Clijsters, Heather Watson, Tim Henman, Jamie Murray) beat Team Elton John (Sabine Lisicki, Martina Hingis, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick). The match ended 22-16 to Team Billie Jean, taking their 22-year battle level at 11-11. The event raised more than $1 million for only the second time in the event’s history for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

To listen to other special guests on the Statoil Masters Tennis Podcast, the free downloadable tennis radio show, from the past week, click on the various links below.

Sir Elton John and friends – http://traffic.libsyn.com/thetennispodcast/Statoil_Masters_2014_Day_5.mp3

Tim Henman – http://traffic.libsyn.com/thetennispodcast/Statoil_Masters_2014_Day_4.mp3

Andy Roddick – http://traffic.libsyn.com/thetennispodcast/Statoil_Masters_2014_Day_3.mp3

John McEnroe – http://traffic.libsyn.com/thetennispodcast/Statoil_Masters_2014_Day_2.mp3

Pat Cash – http://traffic.libsyn.com/thetennispodcast/Statoil_Masters_2014_Day_1.mp3 …

Subscribe on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-tennis-podcast/id530971441

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.

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, Billie Jean King, Fernando Gonzalez, Royal Albert Hall, Statoil Masters, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

December 7, 2014 at 7:24 pm

#StatoilMasters #TENNIS – @elfergonzalez OUTGUNS @andyroddick (THE NEWSET MEMBER OF THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB)… http://t.co/l4mW40QPme
10sBalls_com says:

December 7, 2014 at 9:37 pm

#StatoilMasters #TENNIS- @elfergonzalez OUTGUNS @andyroddick (THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB)… http://t.co/l4mW40QPme #MylanWTT