AEGON Masters at the Royal Albert Hall
21 December 2011
The AEGON Masters event took place at the Royal Albert Hall between 30th November and 4th December 2011. The London venue provided a breathtaking backdrop for some competitive, as well as some fun, tennis. It’s a great spectacle as the players thrashed it out under the beautifully sculpted ceiling of the iconic building.
This year was the 15th anniversary of the legendary tennis tournament and from the outset it looked set to be one of the best with a stellar line up of players including John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash and Henri Leconte competing in the 4 man Legends event. Ivan Lendl also returned to competitive play for the first time at the Albert Hall since retiring in 1993.
During the event Goran Ivanisevic played his first ATP Champions tour match game against Thomas Enqvist sadly losing 4-6; 6-2; 10-6, due to an injury Ivanisevic was drawn in Group A and then faced Mark Philippoussis - 6-7; 2-6. The final was between Thomas Enqvist v Tim Henman 3-6; 6-7 meaning Henman won his first London title! For more on the schedule and who played who click here www.aegonmasterstennis.com
Tennishead caught up with Goran to get his opinion on this legendary event.
TH: The current ATP Champions tour that you are playing on, what are your thoughts on the event? Do you like playing in the Royal Albert Hall?
GI: It’s a special honour to play there because it is not like any other venue. It is a theatre, they have concerts there, it is not a tennis arena. You can hear everybody, it is very nice to play. I am the defending champion of last year, I don’t know if that means anything, but it is still nice. I played for so many years and I always get injured or lose in the final. Last year I managed to win. This year is a pretty strong field. A lot of good players and the court is very quick so there is going to be some interesting matches.
TH: Lots of aces?
GI: A lot of aces. Especially in my group. We have three bomb servers, especially Phillipoussis and myself, so it’s going to be either very interesting or not interesting to watch.
TH: Depending on what generation you speak to I suppose?
GI: Ha, yes.
TH: Have you had many matches with Philippoussis and Enqvist during your career?
GI: Yes I have with both of them. With Enqvist my score is not good but with Philippoussis it is better.
