While the current best players in the world begin their summer swing on the North American cement, the greats of yesteryear will take to the hard courts of Portugal as the Delta Tour of Champions and the Road to the Champions Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London (29 November - 4 December) continues.

The Vale do Lobo Grand Champions Millennium BCP in the Algarve is one of 10 tournaments on the Road to London and has been part of the Tour since 2002. This year sees the return of John McEnroe after a one year break, and the American will take on defending champion Jim Courier - who began his Delta Tour career in style here last year, 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, and seven-time Grand Slam titlist Mats Wilander.

They are joined by former Dutch Davis Cup star Paul Haarhuis, Germany's Carl Uwe Steeb, Spain's Emilio Sanchez and local player Nuno Marques.

McEnroe, currently No.4 in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings, has been drawn to face Wilander, Haarhuis and Sanchez, while Courier meets Cash, Steeb and Marques.

Courier does not intend to give up his title without a fight.

"I came here last year not really knowing what to expect because it was my first time playing on the Delta Tour and I was really blown away by how beautiful this event was, how stiff the competition was and how much fun I had," said Courier.

"I'm back to defend my champion and I think I'm going to be about twice as good this year!"

The players in each group will face off in a round-robin format, and the top player from each group will contest Friday?s final. Those who finish second in each group will play off for third and fourth places respectively.

Matches are contested over the best of three sets, with the deciding set taking the form of a Champions' Tie-break. The first player to reach 10 points in the Champions' Tie-break is the winner. If the score is level at 9-all, a two-point advantage is required.

McEnroe won the first event on the Delta Tour of Champions - the European section of the worldwide ATP Champions Tour - when he triumphed in Frankfurt in February. Sergi Bruguera overcame Pat Cash in the Doha in April, and Goran Ivanisevic also beat Cash a week later in the Hong Kong final. Muster took the first clay court title of the year with victory in Rome in May, and then Cedric Pioline triumphed in Novi, Croatia in June.

Next week, the tour shifts to Graz in Austria, where Boris Becker will attempt to defend a title he has won three years in a row. Whatever happens, Becker needs to perform well to kick-start his 2005 Delta Tour of Champions campaign. Only the top ten players in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings will qualify for London automatically. Courier, Goran Ivanisevic and Thomas Muster will all be standing in his way.

After Graz, the tour moves on to Paris, where another all-star field will do battle between the 15th and 18th of September.

Players compete for points throughout the year to qualify for The Champions Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London, November 29 - December 4. The top ten players in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings after all events are complete will qualify automatically. The field in London will increase to 12 with the addition of two wild cards.

To be eligible to compete on the ATP Champions Tour, players must have been either a World No.1 during their competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active on the ATP tour. Each event can also invite two players of its choice to take wild cards.