February 14th, 2007
The BlackRock Tour of Champions will begin 2007 in Belfast and then journey through ten other major cities around the Globe.
Culminating in the BlackRock Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London in December, the Tour will visit Belfast for the first time next week (February 22-25), before travelling to Barcelona in April and Hamburg in May.
The Barcelona and Hamburg events will form part of ATP events at the same venues.
Formerly the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions, the 2007 BlackRock Tour of Champions sanctioned by the ATP features some of the most well-known, respected and loved tennis players in the history of the sport.
Wimbledon champions such as John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Cash will be regular participants, as will Grand Slam champions Thomas Muster and Sergi Bruguera.
Belfast will feature McEnroe, Cash, Wayne Ferreira, Cedric Pioline, Henri Leconte, Jeremy Bates, Anders Jarryd and Carl-Uwe Steeb.
Last year, Marcelo Rios was the dominant player on the BlackRock Tour of Champions. The former World No.1 from Chile finished as the runaway leader in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.
In 2006, the season-ending BlackRock Masters was won for a second consecutive year by Paul Haarhuis. The Dutchman has arguably proved himself to be the most talented 40-year-old tennis player in the world.
ELIGIBILITY RULES
To be eligible to compete on the BlackRock Tour of Champions, players must have been either:
- a World No.1 during their competitive playing careers
- a Grand Slam singles finalist or champion
- a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team
or
- Voted onto the Special Exempt list by the BlackRock Tour of Champions Board.
All players must also have been retired from ATP competition for at least two years.
Each event can also offer two wild cards.
The BlackRock Tour of Champions Calendar 2007
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - February 22-25
BARCELONA, Spain - April 19-22
HAMBURG, Germany - May 17-20
NOVI, Croatia – June 14-17
ALGARVE, Portugal - August 7-10
GRAZ, Austria - August 11-15
PARIS, France - September 20-23
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands October 4-7
BRUSSELS, Belgium November 8-11
FRANKFURT, Germany - November 15-18
LONDON, UK - December 4-9
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2006 CHAMPIONS TOUR RANKINGS
| POS. | PLAYER | PTS |
| 1 | Marcelo Rios | 2480 |
| 2 | Goran Ivanisevic | 975 |
| 3 | Thomas Muster | 955 |
| 4 | Cedric Pioline | 850 |
| 5 | Sergi Bruguera | 790 |
| 6 | John McEnroe | 765 |
| 7 | Richard Krajicek | 680 |
| 8 | Carl-Uwe Steeb | 525 |
| 9 | Pat Cash | 480 |
| 10 | Henri Leconte | 450 |
| 11 | Renzo Furlan | 400 |
| 12 | Paul Haarhuis | 340 |
| 13= | Wayne Ferreira | 250 |
| 13= | Carlos Costa | 250 |
| 15 | Magnus Larsson | 125 |
| 16 | Anders Jarryd | 120 |
| 17= | Mark Woodforde | 80 |
| 17= | Mats Wilander | 80 |
| 17= | Andres Gomez | 80 |
| 17= | Nuno Marques | 80 |
| 17= | Alex Antonitsch | 80 |
| 17= | Guy Forget | 80 |
| 23= | Michael Stich | 60 |
| 23= | Mark Kratzmann | 60 |
| 23= | Javier Sanchez | 60 |
| 23= | Martin Jaite | 60 |
| 23= | Joao Cunha Silva | 60 |
BlackRock is a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to clients around the world. The rebrand from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions to the new BlackRock Tour of Champions, stemmed from the merger between BlackRock and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers on the 29th September 2006. This merger united the predominantly US fixed income institutional heritage of BlackRock with that of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers’ award-winning global retail equity franchise. The firm now offers a full range of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products with strong representation in both retail and institutional channels. Today, BlackRock serves clients in over 50 countries worldwide. Their client base includes insurance companies, third-party distributors, foundations, corporations, banks, IFAs and individuals across the globe. BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. As of December 31, 2006, the assets under management of BlackRock were $1.125 trillion.
South Africa's international flagship airline and the continent's most awarded carrier, South African Airways is the official airline of the BlackRock Tour of Champions. Its modern fleet features a comfortable Economy Class cabin recently reconfigured for extra legroom and a Premium Business Class cabin featuring the airline's award-winning, lie-flat seat. Complimentary South African wines, inspired cuisine and personal on-demand entertainment for all travellers make the trip to Africa fly by. Built on a venerable 72-year history of bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world, the airline's network is unsurpassed on the continent - connecting travellers to more than 20 destinations within South Africa and more than 20 cities across Africa. As a recent member to the worldwide Star Alliance, South African Airways is now able to offer its customers 852 destinations in 152 countries and more than 15,500 flights daily.
For the Latest News, Features and Updates from the BlackRock Tour of Champions:www.blackrocktourofchampions.com
For more information about the BlackRock Masters, go to: www.theblackrockmasters.com
and for further information:www.blackrockinternational.com/tourofchampions
or contact:
| David Law Communications Director BlackRock Tour of Champions +44 (0) 7764 186090 |
Emma Phillips Media Relations EMEA BlackRock +44 (0) 20 7743 2922 |
