McEnroe Heads ATP Senior Stop at Barcelona

"I'm looking forward to playing McEnroe," Rios said last month. "That's one of my goals. He has been talking a lot so I'm waiting for him to come to play me."

Alas, while McEnroe surfaces in Barcelona this week, Rios skips the SEAT Champions Cup '06 after winning two titles in his first two events of the year at Doha and Hong Kong.

McEnroe has been uncharacteristically silent in the face of Rios' repeated barbs, but look for a reponse after he has taken to the court for the first time Thursday in Barcelona.

If McEnroe can claim the title at Barcelona he will leap-frog from 7 to No. 2 behind Rios, bumping No. 2-ranked Cedric Pioline and No. 3 Jim Courier.

Joining McEnroe among the eight-man field is Wimbledon champ Richard Krajicek who is tied at the No. 7 ranking with McEnroe, and No. 10T-ranked French Open champs Sergi Bruguera and Mats Wilander. Making their 2006 senior tour debuts will be clay aficionados Andres Gomez, Emilio Sanchez, Carlos Costa and Martin Jaite.

McEnroe will attempt to emerge into the final from Group A with Wilander, Costa and Jaite, while Group B is up for grabs considering Bruguera's struggles of late, the fast-court loving Krajicek, and claycourters Gomez and Sanchez.

The Barcelona senior stop will be contested from April 20-23, 2006, with 400 points to the champion.

2006 TENNIS-X.COM COMBINED SENIOR RANKINGS
(Top 10, through week of April 16)

1. Marcelo Rios (800 pts.)
2. Cedric Pioline (450)
3. Jim Courier (400)
4. Pat Cash (390)
5. Thomas Muster (375)
6. Henri Leconte (205)
7T. Richard Krajicek (200)
7T. John McEnroe (200)
9. Mikael Pernfors (125)
10T. Sergi Bruguera (80)
10T. Aaron Krickstein (80)
10T. Mats Wilander (80)
10T. Mark Woodforde (80)

The Tennis-X.com Combined Senior Rankings is a cumulative ranking for senior tour players combining results from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Europe, and the Outback Champions Series in the U.S.