August 18, 2007
Michael Stich claimed the s Tennis Masters title in Graz with a thrilling 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 (Champions' Tie-break) victory in the final over Cedric Pioline on Saturday.
It was only Stich’s second title on the BlackRock Tour of Champions – the other coming four years ago in the Algarve, Portugal.
He had to do it the hard way, coming back from 4-2 down in the Champions’ Tie-Break, and was delighted to prevail.
“I had a good time here,” said Stich.
“For me it’s always the same, when I enjoy myself at a tournament I play my best tennis. If I’m not enjoying myself I don’t’ play too well so it shows that this is a great event and I had a lot of fun.”.
He now has one eye on the season-ending finale - the BlackRock Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 4-9 December.
The top seven players in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings will qualify automatically, and Stich wants to be one of them.
“There are big bucks to be won at the BlackRock Masters,” said Stich, who has now moved up to No.5.
“I’ll put on practice week before then - you can’t imagine how much I will practice! The Royal Albert Hall is a great venue and London at pre-Christmas time is fantastic - what more can you ask for?”
It was a tough proposition for Pioline to come through after sealing his place in the final earlier in the day when his rain-delayed group match with Sergi Bruguera was concluded.
The Frenchman won that 6-3, 6-4, but facing Stich in inspirational form was a step too far.
“Michael played too good, too fast. I don’t know how because he is older than me!” he said.
“I played pretty good this week. I lost to (Magnus) Gustafsson but I beat (Goran) Ivanisevic and Bruguera, which is not easy. And I reached the final against Michael (Stich) so it’s a great week. I would like to qualify for the BlackRock Masters Tennis in London. Playing finals here will help that cause!”
Elsewhere, Thomas Muster sent his legions of Austrian fans home happy with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Goran Ivanisevic in the third/fourth place play-off.
Afterwards, Muster revealed that they would now go on a boating holiday together in Croatia.
Hopefully, the Austrian will take some sailing tips from Ivanisevic. Last month, Muster was fined €440 and had his passport briefly taken away for speeding on his jet-ski too close to the Croatian shore.
The BlackRock Tour of Champions will now move on to Paris for the 4e Trophée Jean-Luc Lagardère, 20-23 September, before visiting Eindhoven for the Alex Tennis Classics (October 4-7), Liege in Belgium and Frankfurt in Germany.
RESULTS – SATURDAY, 18 AUGUST, 2007
Final
Michael Stich d Cedric Pioline 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 (Champions' Tie-break)
3rd/4th Place Play-off
Thomas Muster d Goran Ivanisevic 6-4, 6-4
Postponed round-robin match
Cedric Pioline d Sergi Bruguera 6-3, 6-4
LATEST STANDINGS
GROUP A – FINAL STANDINGS
Matches won/lost (sets)
Michael Stich 3-0 (6-1)
Thomas Muster 2-1 (5-3)
Pat Cash 1-2 (3-5)
Carl-Uwe Steeb 0-3 (1-6)
GROUP B – FINAL STANDINGS
Matches won/lost (sets)
Cedric Pioline 2-1 (5-2)
Goran Ivanisevic 2-1 (4-3)
Sergi Bruguera 1-2 (2-4)
Magnus Gustafsson 1-2 (3-5)
