Sampras to make first visit to China
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Move over, giant pandas. The legendary Pete Sampras is coming to town.
On Thursday, the City of Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province, and CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company, announced that Sampras, widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, is making his long-awaited debut in China as part of the eight-player field for the second Chengdu Open.
The ATP Champions Tour Event will take place from Oct. 21-24, 2010 at the Sichuan International Tennis Center.
Joining American Sampras, who is a 14-time Grand Slam Champion and seven-time winner of the Wimbledon singles crown, will be defending Chengdu champion Thomas Enqvist (Sweden), former ATP Tour singles and doubles No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia), Wimbledon champions Pat Cash (Australia) and Michael Stich (Germany), two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter (Australia), Davis Cup winner Guy Forget (France), and Thai sensation Paradorn Srichaphan.
The eight players hold a combined 150 ATP World Tour singles titles and 62 ATP World Tour doubles titles. Seven of the players are former top 5 ATP Tour players; all eight players were ranked within the top 10.
To be eligible to compete on the ATP Champions Tour, players must have been either a world No. 1, a Grand Slam singles finalist or winner, or a singles player on a Davis Cup-winning team during their tenure on the Tour. Each event may also invite two wild card players.
The Chengdu Open will be played over four days with players divided into two round robin groups of four players. The first group, called the Panda Group, consists of Sampras, Srichaphan, Forget and Cash; the second group, called the "Chili Group" features Enqvist, Rafter, Stich and Kafelnikov.
The winner in each group will advance to the final on Sunday, while the second-place finishers in each group will play-off for third place. Matches are a best-of-three sets, with the deciding set played as a champions tiebreak - the winner is the first to reach 10 points with at least a two-point margin.
Chengdu Sports Bureau Director Qin Wenlin said,"We are indeed deeply honored that Pete Sampras, a global sports icon, has selected Chengdu as the destination for his first trip to China. Following Michael Chang, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe's historic visit last year, we are putting Chengdu on the world map for all the right reasons. The city is excited."
Tournament director and IMG Senior Vice President and Head of Tennis, Asia, Nick Freyer said,"It is a tremendous honor to join forces again with Pete Sampras after his historic matches in 2007 and 2009 in Asia, against Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. To make history once again, with Pete' s first ever visit to China, and to do it in the company of so many other ATP Champions, is a coup for Chengdu and very exciting for all of us at IMG."
Sichuan Sports Bureau director Zhu Ling said,"Travelers have long been visiting Sichuan in order to see Chengdu, to experience our giant pandas and to enjoy our famously spicy cuisine. We are thrilled to give them yet another compelling reason to travel here."
The players shared their excitement in a number of video messages shown at Thursday's media launch, which can also be seen on the official event website. Enqvist, the current ATP Champions Tour No.1 and last year's titlist, eagerly anticipates the challenge Sampras represents.
"I am really looking forward to coming back to Chengdu and trying to defend my title," he said. "I had a fantastic time there last year and I' m looking forward to playing Pete Sampras."
Enqvist, a finalist at the 1999 Australian Open and the current Swedish Davis Cup captain, now holds a 21-1 record on the ATP Champions Tour. His lone loss came at the hands of Goran Ivanesvic this past April in the Barcelona final. Previously, Enqvist had won every ATP Champions Tour event he had entered.
Last year's third-place finisher at the Chengdu Open, Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia), is a former singles and doubles ATP Tour No. 1. He won singles slams at Roland Garros in 1996 and at the Australian Open in 1999, as well as the 2000 singles Olympic Gold medal.
A four-time doubles Grand Slam winner, he continues to display fine form in 2010, partnering with Andrei Medvedev to defeat Michael Stich and Goran Ivanisevic to win the 2010 Roland Garros Legends Under 45 Doubles Championship in June.
In his video message to Chinese tennis fans, Kafelnikov said,"I'm looking forward to going back to the Chengdu event because we had a wonderful time last year. The tournament was well organized, and another addition to this year's tournament will be Pete Sampras. Of course, his participation will take the tournament to even greater heights."
Fellow Chengdu returnee, 1987 Wimbledon Champion and fan-favorite Pat Cash, who now also hosts a global monthly tennis show on CNN International, promises more of his brand of special tennis entertainment, which will include bringing more of his trademark black-and-white checkered headbands to "serve up" to the crowds. Last year, fans fought to catch one of the many headbands serve-and-volleying Cash threw into the crowd. By the tournament's end, having exhausted his supply, Cash was forced to cut one in half for two fans to share.
"I am very much looking forward to coming back," he said. "I had a great time last year playing in the tournament. It was a fantastic crowd. I'll make sure I'll bring enough of the headbands so you guys can have one."
Cash's compatriot and fellow serve-and-volleyer Pat Rafter will be making his first appearance at the Chengdu Open and a rare appearance out of Australia. A two-time US Open champion (1998-1999) and two-time Wimbledon finalist (with losses to Sampras in 2000 and Goran Ivanesevic in 2001), Rafter's genial and gentlemanly nature has endeared him to fans worldwide.
Another new addition to this year's tournament will be Michael Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon Champion. The following year, Stich also captured the Wimbledon doubles crown with doubles partner John McEnroe, and then teamed with compatriot Boris Becker to win the Olympic doubles gold medal.
Completing his stellar year, he also won the year-ending Grand Slam Cup (an ITF event akin to the Masters Cup) by defeating Michael Chang. This year, Stich and doubles partner Ivanisevic claimed the Roland Garros Legends Under 45 Men's Doubles Runner-Up trophy. In addition to his playing commitments, Stich is now an ATP World Tour Tournament Director at Hamburg.
Guy Forget, a core member of two Davis Cup-winning teams (1991 and 1996) and France's current Davis Cup Captain, will join the fray in reactivating old rivalries.
Under Forget's leadership, France recently upset Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals and will play for a place in the Finals in September. Forget's 1987 and 1996 runner-up Roland Garros doubles trophies demonstrate the longevity of his success during his tenure on the ATP Tour.
Rounding out the field is Paradorn Srichaphan, Asia' s No. 1 ranked player for many years whose stellar play almost single-handedly ignited a tennis boom across South East Asia.
Srichaphan, who is married to former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova, will be making his ATP Champions Tour debut in Chengdu as a wild card. His career high ranking of No. 9 on the ATP World Tour makes him the highest ranked player from Thailand in history. He is also captaining the 2010 Thai Davis Cup team after officially retiring from the ATP World tour earlier this year.
In addition to watching 14 classic match-ups, fans can also enjoy the on-site entertainment programs and contests, including the entertainingly playful Panda Mascot and the "Catch the Ball Challenges."
After each match, the winning player will hit six autographed balls into the stands. Fans who catch the balls are not only allowed to keep the autograph ball but are also eligible to claim a host of exciting event related items. Fans will also be able to meet the players at the daily autograph sessions held throughout the tournament.
