Marcelo Rios completed a sensational return to the sport after three years on the sidelines by beating Pat Cash 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the first event of the 2006 Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions in Doha.
The Chilean, playing in a sleeveless yellow shirt, took everything that the Australian had to throw at him, and returned it with interest. He will now meet former Wimbledon finalist Cedric Pioline in the final after the Frenchman overcame Richard Krajicek in a dramatic, emotional group decider.
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Pioline won a thrilling match 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-7 (Champions’ Tie-Break), but two people that were not happy with the result were Krajicek’s children – eight-year-old Emma and five-year-old Alec. Having watched every exchange of the match from courtside with mother and Krajicek’s wife Daphne Deckers (a successful author and star of the movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’), and ultimately seen their Dad lose, they burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry they were disappointed that daddy lost,” said Pioline afterwards.
“I don’t know what to say, except I’m sorry!”
His awkwardness was tempered by his happiness at having reached the final.
“I’m very happy” he confirmed.
“I think it was a tough match today because Richard is still serving very, very hard. In the beginning of the match I was surprised about his serving and it was difficult to find my rhythm. It was difficult for me to return and it was a very close match. I have to play Rios in the final now. I think it’s going to be fun and interesting. I’m sure he is playing very good and I hope we will have good fun.”
For Rios, it was further confirmation that he had made the right decision in returning to the sport as part of the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions.
“I’m happy to be in the final,” he said.
“It’s my first tournament on the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions and being in the final is pretty good. It would be nice to come to Doha in my first tournament and to win the title. After not having played for two years, to come back and be in the final is good. I’m really pleased with the game I’m playing and I will try to win the tournament.“
The third/fourth place play-off will be contested by Krajicek and Muster. Muster defeated Henri Leconte 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 (Champions’ Tie-Break).
Matches are played over the best of three sets with the third set taking the form of a Champions’ Tie-Break (first to ten and leading by two clear points).
To be eligible to compete on the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions, 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 as a singles player on the ATP tour. Each event can also invite two players of its choice to take wild cards.
Players compete for points throughout the year to qualify for the Champions Masters which takes place December 5-10, 2006 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The top ten players in the rankings after all events are complete will qualify automatically. The field in London will increase to 12 with the addition of two wild card invitations. There is a $100,000 prize on offer for the winner in London.
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with offices in 36 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. Firmwide, assets under management total $544 billion as at 31st December 2005. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit <http://www.ml.com/> www.ml.com
MERRILL LYNCH Tour of Champions Points Allocation
Winner – 400 points
Finalist – 250 points
3rd place – 200 points
4th place – 125 points
5/6th place – 80 points
7/8th place – 60 points
The Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions 2006:
DOHA, Qatar March 29 – April 1
HONG KONG, China April 6-9
BARCELONA, Spain April 20-23
ROME, Italy May 13-17
SPLIT, Croatia August 3-6
ALGARVE, Portugal August 8-11
GRAZ, Austria August 15-19
PARIS, France September 14-17
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands October 12-15
DUBLIN, Ireland October 19-22
FRANKFURT, Germany November 16-19
The Masters, LONDON, UK December 5-10
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Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with offices in 36 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. Firmwide, assets under management total $544 billion as at 31st December 2005. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com
