Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski will clash for the first time in London and the first time on the ATP Champions Tour after the draw and schedule were announced for the AEGON Masters Tennis tournament, which takes place 30th November - 4th December at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The British duo have been drawn into a round-robin group with recent Chengdu finalist Younes El Aynaoui in a six-man ATP Champions Tour field which also includes Goran Ivanisevic, Mark Philippoussis and Thomas Enqvist. Pat Rafter has been forced to withdraw from the event after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Henman and Rusedski will face each other in the evening session on Saturday 3rd December at 7.30pm. They enjoyed a fascinating rivalry throughout their careers, and this will be their first meeting since the 2006 US Open, which Henman won. Henman led their career head-to-head 8-2, including a four-set win at the Australian Open in 2002, but Rusedski scored a notable straight sets triumph at the ATP World Tour Finals in 1998. Henman reached four Wimbledon semifinals, and three finals at The Queen's Club, whilst Rusedski reached the 1997 US Open final. They have never previously faced each other in London. Their only UK meetings took place at the National Championships in Telford in 1995 and 1996. Henman won both of them in three sets.
"Tim and I shared a great rivalry throughout our careers and it will be really special to play each other in Britain for the first time in such a long time," said Rusedski. "The Royal
Albert Hall is an incredible place in which to play, and I am looking forward to it a lot."
Henman was equally enthusiastic about the event, and the draw. "It helped both Greg and I in our careers to have each other there and it's a shame that we didn't have a chance to play each other more in Britain," he said. "We never played each other at Queen's or Wimbledon, so it's great to be able to do so at the Royal
Albert Hall. Hopefully the crowds will come out in numbers and will enjoy it as much as we will."
New for 2011, a separate four-man legends contest featuring
John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash and Henri Leconte has also been added to the tournament. They will face each other over a round-robin format. An all-star doubles line-up will be announced soon.
On revealing that he could not play because of injury, Rafter was disappointed, but determined to return in the future.
"I am very disappointed that I won't be able to play at the AEGON Masters this year," he said. "I had surgery on my shoulder in February and my rehabilitation progress has been slower than I would have hoped. As a result I felt I had to withdraw from the event as I will not be able to compete at my best. I always love playing at the Royal
Albert Hall, it is a special event and I have some great support from the British fans, so it is very sad that I won't be there this year. However, I very much hope to be back for the event in 2012"
To purchase tickets for the AEGON Masters Tennis, go to:
http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/aegon-masters-tennis-2011/default.aspx or call the box office on: 0845 401 5005
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