Three more Grand Slam champions and a former Wimbledon finalist have qualified for the Champions Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which takes place between November 29 and December 4.
Four-time Grand Slam titlist Jim Courier, 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash, and Sergi Bruguera, twice a French Open champion, have all guaranteed their places in the draw after ensuring top ten finishes in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings.
They are joined by the 1997 Wimbledon finalist Cedric Pioline, who won the title in Novi, Croatia earlier this year.
With John McEnroe and former French Open winner Thomas Muster already qualified, the Masters promises to be quite an event.
The current No.1 player in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings, Goran Ivanisevic, will not play because he has been called up to the Croatian team for the Davis Cup final that will take place in the same week.
The Tour will now move onto Essen (27-30 October) for the final event on the Delta Tour of Champions before the Champions Masters gets underway at the Royal Albert Hall.
McEnroe won the first event on the 2005 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 final in April, and 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. McEnroe won his second title of the year in the Algarve in August, and then Muster lifted the Graz crown to top the rankings. Courier won his first event by beating Pioline in the Paris final, and the most recent tournament saw Ivanisevic successfully defend his Eindhoven title.
Players compete for points throughout the year to qualify for The Champions Masters which takes place between November 29 and 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. 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competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active on the ATP tour.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.
Media Accreditation requests for the event at the Royal Albert Hall should be sent to wpopham@quintusgroup.com
Tickets are now available from the Royal Albert Hall box office - tel: +44 (0)870 458 3661 or on-line at www.themasterstennis.com.
