Rios, McEnroe, Muster Headline Austrian Seniors
Posted on August 15, 2006No. 2-ranked John McEnroe will get another shot at world senior No. 1 Marcelo Rios when the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions takes to the slick Rebound Ace courts Tuesday at the senior event in Seiersberg, Styria, Austria.
Homecountry favorite Thomas Muster has been grouped with McEnroe, Swede Magnus Larsson and German Carl-Uwe Steeb, while Rios must navigate a big-serving group in crowd favorite Goran Ivanisevic, French shotmaker Henri Leconte and Austrian Alex Antonitsch.
The 45-year-old McEnroe, who lost to Rios last week in the Algarve, gets a rest on the opening day Tuesday as Rios faces Leconte, Ivanisevic takes on Antonitsch, and Muster concludes the night session against Larsson.
Tournament officials also tried to secure Michael Stich for the event but to no avail.
"In the beginning, Michael Chang was our top favorite, but when Chang had to take a pause due to a disruption of the Achilles tendon, we contacted McEnroe," said tournament official Edwin Weindorfer.
Muster defeated Ivanisevic in last year's final.
"With Rios, McEnroe and Ivanisevic, Seiersberg sees the current top players of the Champions Tour," Muster said. "Never before have there been so many good players."
WORLD SENIOR RANKINGS presented by Tennis-X.com
(Top 10 through Aug. 13, 2006)
1. Marcelo Rios (1200 pts.)
2. John McEnroe (885)
3. Sergi Bruguera (730)
4. Cedric Pioline (650)
5. Pat Cash (610)
6. Jim Courier (600)
7. Thomas Muster (500)
8T. Renzo Furlan (400)
8T. Richard Krajicek (400)
8T. Todd Martin (400)
The World Senior Rankings presented by Tennis-X.com 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.
Homecountry favorite Thomas Muster has been grouped with McEnroe, Swede Magnus Larsson and German Carl-Uwe Steeb, while Rios must navigate a big-serving group in crowd favorite Goran Ivanisevic, French shotmaker Henri Leconte and Austrian Alex Antonitsch.
The 45-year-old McEnroe, who lost to Rios last week in the Algarve, gets a rest on the opening day Tuesday as Rios faces Leconte, Ivanisevic takes on Antonitsch, and Muster concludes the night session against Larsson.
Tournament officials also tried to secure Michael Stich for the event but to no avail.
"In the beginning, Michael Chang was our top favorite, but when Chang had to take a pause due to a disruption of the Achilles tendon, we contacted McEnroe," said tournament official Edwin Weindorfer.
Muster defeated Ivanisevic in last year's final.
"With Rios, McEnroe and Ivanisevic, Seiersberg sees the current top players of the Champions Tour," Muster said. "Never before have there been so many good players."
WORLD SENIOR RANKINGS presented by Tennis-X.com
(Top 10 through Aug. 13, 2006)
1. Marcelo Rios (1200 pts.)
2. John McEnroe (885)
3. Sergi Bruguera (730)
4. Cedric Pioline (650)
5. Pat Cash (610)
6. Jim Courier (600)
7. Thomas Muster (500)
8T. Renzo Furlan (400)
8T. Richard Krajicek (400)
8T. Todd Martin (400)
The World Senior Rankings presented by Tennis-X.com 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.