TENNIS NEWS FROM THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL – WE CLOSE THE GILT CURTAINS ON CHAMPIONS TENNIS & XAVIER MALISSE UPDATES US ON HAVING FUN ON THE COURTS

Written by: Staff on 7th December 2015

TENNIS NEWS FROM THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL - WE CLOSE THE GILT CURTAINS ON CHAMPIONS TENNIS & XAVIER MALISSE UPDATES US ON HAVING FUN ON THE COURTS |

Snow is falling .. All around us … #tiebreaktens #shakinstevens #MerryChristmasEveryOne – Photo by @britwatchsports via Twitter.

Can this really be? The final tennis of the year on these fair shores? And what a way for it to end, with John McEnroe and wily old Henri Leconte keeping fans of all ages on the edges of their seats.

Watching Leconte is of special significance as I remember him in my early trips to Wimbledon as a teenager where his banter with the fans endeared him to many and made him a fan favourite. Even though he was edged in straight sets by McEnroe, who tried to steal the show last night at the Tie Break Tens, there was plenty of amusement to go round.

To begin with though it was Big Mac, as he was the sharper of the two and the Frenchman looked as cold as a piece of Brie put too near the back of the fridge. He swiftly put Leconte on the back foot and once he had edged ahead, he looked very comfortable in the lead.

But the Frenchman, who has been a regular at the The Royal Albert Hall in all its years here, was not done, and put up a far better fight – the Brie was warming up!

His returning got better, his serving and volleying left Mac stranded at the back of the court time and again, and for a while the clock really felt like it was turning back! Mac even smacked a ball in faux-rage almost giving the iconic grand organ in the Hall a bit of a dent.

Still the Frenchman’s flurry wasn’t quite enough, and although he stopped short of giving McEnroe three straight match points, with a roar of triumph not unlike an ancient gladiator clamouring for the audience’s approval, McEnroe sealed a 6-3 6-3 win, arms raised aloft… while at the net Leconte giggled!

But who better to close off out one of the younger guns of the Champions Tour, Xavier Malisse. He was the star of the day session when I arrived, and was closing out the action in doubles, where Pat Cash had issued all the ball girls matching headbands.

Against a Swedish team of Magnus Larsson and Mats Wilander, the combination of Cash and Malisse were the main crowd entertainers. From playful alteration of the traditional doubles signals behind the back to Cash standing back (I will leave that up to your imaginations!) while Malisse chased around doing all the work, the crowd were loving every minute of it.

With Malisse taking it easy leaning on his racquet, it was Cash’s turn to run around, but maybe the most charming moment of the closing match was when the Aussie invited a little girl on to play on court with him and Malisse. With a ball girl drafted in at the other end for a bit of serving practice, kids and adults alike were cheering the little mite on as Cash had to lift her to hit the ball!

Left to right: Pat Cash, Tim Henman, Xavier Malisse & Henri Leconte

After the match (Cash and Malisse emerged from the super-set victorious 8-7) 10sballs had a chance to catch up with Our Dear Buddy X MAN Xavier Malisse for his views on the whole tournament.

He told us: “I don’t think too many places you go on a Sunday at 5:30-6 o’clock and it’s packed with people. The venue, the whole atmosphere, everything just comes together here.”

The iconic building’s main feature are the ‘sonic mushrooms’ – acoustic buffers hung from the domed ceiling, and in the 19 years the tournament has been here, they have been as much a part of the proceedings as the court and the players themselves.

“I think it’s very important when you play these matches if you tell a joke or you try to interact with the crowd, the good thing about this place is everybody hears it. The great acoustics, sound effects, hitting the ball, talking to the people. That’s important I think.”

One thing that stood out – as well as people who remembered the Champions and the Legends in their hey day was a new audience of children, for some it may well have been their first introduction to live tennis.

Malisse said, about his and Cash’s little companion on court: “It’s awesome. I did it when was six years old, I played against Mats Wilander and he came to the club in Belgium. These are memories when you grow up later, like the little girl today, she won’t forget that Pat Cash took her out of the crowd, lifted her up and that was a great moment.”

So what advice could be give to youngsters whose interest in the sport may just have been sparked by the matches, the Tie Break Tens and the whole intimate environment of the Royal Albert Hall?

“The first thing I would say is you’ve got to have fun, you have to enjoy [it]. Even though it could be hard work when you want to come professional, you just have to work hard but you’ve got to have fun doing it.

“I had times where I didn’t have fun and then you don’t play as well. It goes a lot quicker and it’s a lot more enjoyable when you take pleasure out of working hard. There’s times to laugh on the court, and there’s times to be serious but at the end of the day you’ve got to feel good and enjoy the game.”

And so the gilt curtains close on a long, but glorious season. History was made in some places, thwarted in others, and yet in just a few weeks… we will be doing it all over again. Roll on 2016.

Ros Satar is a contributor to 10sballs.com and runs Britwatch Sports (@britwatchsports), because we Brits like watching sport. Occasionally we’re good at it.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Champions Tennis, Henri Leconte, John Mcenroe, Ros Satar, Royal Albert Hall, Sports, Tennis, Xavier Malisse

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10sBalls_com says:

December 7, 2015 at 9:10 am

#Tennis News From The #RoyalAlbertHall – Xavier #Malisse Updates Us On Having Fun On The Courts & More…
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britwatchsports says:

December 7, 2015 at 9:12 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #Tennis News From The #RoyalAlbertHall – Xavier #Malisse Updates Us On Having Fun On The Courts & More…
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tiebreaktens says:

December 8, 2015 at 2:40 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #Tennis News From The #RoyalAlbertHall – Xavier #Malisse Updates Us On Having Fun On The Courts & More…
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xmalissesite says:

December 8, 2015 at 9:21 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #Tennis News From The #RoyalAlbertHall – Xavier #Malisse Updates Us On Having Fun On The Courts & More…
https://t.co/iI…