Goran Ivanisevic has promised to return to the Champions Masters in London next year after being given a ‘chance of a lifetime’ opportunity to form part of the Croatian team that faces Slovakia in the Davis Cup final.
The Champions Masters takes place between November 29 and December 4, while the Davis Cup final this year runs between December 2 and 4. The Croatian was therefore forced to make a difficult choice after being selected as the fourth player in his nation’s team.
“I played on the Champions Tour all year, I qualified for the Masters and I would have loved to have played at the Royal Albert Hall because I heard that it has an unbelievable atmosphere and I think I had a real chance to win it,” said Ivanisevic.
“But, this is a chance of a lifetime for me to be in the Croatian team for the Davis Cup final. Who knows if it is ever going to happen again? I think the tournament and the spectators will understand that this is a one-time opportunity for me and I plan to play a lot of Masters’ in the future. Trust me, I will be there in London next year.”
The Champions Masters Tournament Chairman, Peter Worth, said:
“We are obviously very disappointed that Goran will be unable to play at The Champions Masters this year. However, we fully understand his reasons – the chance to win the Davis Cup is an ambition for all players and we wish Goran and the Croatian Team the very best of luck in the final. We look forward to welcoming him to the Royal Albert Hall in 2006.”
Ivanisevic currently stands second in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings, and he was one of three players that had already qualified for the Champions Masters. The others are John McEnroe and Thomas Muster.
Players compete for points throughout the year to qualify for the event. The top ten players in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings after all other events are complete will qualify automatically. The field in London will increase to 12 with the addition of two wild cards. There is a $100,000 prize on offer for the winner in London.
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competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active on the ATP tour.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.
