Two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera begins the defence of his Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD title on Tuesday as the BlackRock Tour of Champions continues in the Algarve, Portugal this week.
Bruguera takes on Brazilian Wild Card Fernando Meligeni in his opening match in the Vale do Lobo group in what will be a repeat of last year’s final, which the Spaniard won in straight sets.
“It is a fantastic event here at the Vale do Lobo Tennis Acadamy, and I’m really looking forward to defending my title here,” said Bruguera. “We have some great players here again this year, so I know it’s going to be tough.”
Algarve Event Profile | Order of Play
Bruguera is in a group alongside 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, 1988 French Open finalist Henri Leconte as well as Meligeni, who reached the BlackRock Tour final in Istanbul last month.
Former World No. 1 Marcelo Rios heads the Caixa Geral Depósitos Group, and the Chilean begins his quest for the title against local favourite Joao Cunha e Silva in the opening match of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Thomas Muster, who pulled his right abductor muscle during the semifinal in Graz last week, has had to withdraw from Tuesday’s encounter with Argentine legend Gullermo Vilas and has been replaced by Britain’s Chris Wilkinson.
The winners of each group will go through to Friday’s final, with the runners-up meeting in a third-place play-off prior to the final.
Borg, Federer To Team Up In Special Event
Exclusive Video: Borg vs. McEnroe - Inside The Rivalry
GORAN VOTED MOST FAMOUS CROATIAN
Goran Ivanisevic has been voted the most well-known Croat in the world.
In an international poll conducted by the Croatian Times website, the 2001 Wimbledon champion received 32.4 per cent of the votes.
It put him ahead of the Croatian national football team coach Slaven Bilic (27.2%), Hollywood star Goran Visnjic (13.9%) and Croatian President Stjepan Mesic (6.4%).
Ivanisevic is popular wherever he goes on the BlackRock Tour of Champions, and he is all set to thrill the packed crowds in Portugal for the first time this week.
THE PAT RAFTER INTERVIEW part two
Pat Rafter returned to tennis with a bang last week by claiming the BlackRock Tour of Champions title in Graz on his debut. We gave fans of the BlackRock Tour of Champions and BBC websites the chance to interview him about anything and everything.
In the second part of his exclusive interview, BBC Sport readers asked him whether he thinks Roger Federer will regain his World No. 1 ranking, which of his fellow pro's he keeps in touch with and whether he regretted retiring at such a young age.
Click here to read all of his answers.
