No. 3-Ranked McEnroe Heads Rome Seniors This Week

John McEnroe will attempt to gain ground on the idle No. 1-ranked Marcelo Rios and No. 2 Jim Courier when he competes this week at the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions event in Rome.

McEnroe is in the round robin Group A with Pat Cash, Cedric Pioline, and local Italian draw Renzo Furlan.

Group B consists of the two-time Roland Garros champion Sergi Bruguera, Frenchman Henri Leconte, Claudio Mezzadri of Switzerland, and Germany's Carl-Uwe Steeb, a late replacement for Thomas Muster who was forced to withdraw due to illness.

The event is run beginning on Saturday in conjunction with the ATP event that is ending, and the WTA Tour event that begins next week.

The No. 4-ranked Bruguera, who won the senior event in Barcelona earlier this year, enters the tournament as the favorite on the red clay.

Scheduled for the opening day Saturday are Steeb vs. Leconte, Bruguera vs. Mezzadri, and Pioline vs. Furlan.

2006 TENNIS-X.COM COMBINED SENIOR RANKINGS
(through May 7)

1. Marcelo Rios (800 pts.)
2. Jim Courier (600)
3. John McEnroe (575)
4. Sergi Bruguera (480)
5T. Pat Cash (450)
5T. Cedric Pioline (450)
7T. Richard Krajicek (400)
7T. Todd Martin (400)
9. Thomas Muster (375)
10. Carlos Costa (250)

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.