Goran Ivanisevic will face Fernando Meligeni in the final of the BlackRock Tour of Champions event in Istanbul despite ‘losing his mind’ against Thomas Muster on Saturday.
A single break was enough for the Croatian in the first set, but although he raced to a 3-0 lead in the second, he inexplicably went off the boil. Muster capitalised and broke twice to lead 5-4, but Ivanisevic dug deep to break back and take it to a tie break. His serve started firing again and Muster hit a double fault at 3-3, giving Ivanisevic the crucial mini-break. He aptly finished the match with a booming ace out wide.
“I was serving too well and then I started to invent some new serves, some stupid serves,” explained Ivanisevic.
“I lost my rhythm, I lost the game, I lost my mind.”
Still, Ivanisevic reached the final, and his 3-0 head-to-head record against Meligeni gives him cause for optimism.
“He looks good, he looks the same as he did 10 years ago,” said Ivanisevic of Meligeni.
“But I’ve never lost to him on the ATP circuit so we’ll have to see how it goes on the BlackRock circuit tomorrow.”
Istanbul Event Profile | Order of Play
Exclusive Video: Borg vs. McEnroe - Inside The Rivalry
Meligeni saw off last year’s dominant player Sergi Bruguera 6-2, 6-4 in surprisingly straightforward fashion to reach the final of the Turkcell Legends Cup.
The Brazilian dealt better with the scorching conditions and Bruguera never settled into a rhythm. Meligeni exploited his opponent’s sluggishness, using angles and drop shots to make Bruguera run.
“It was a fantastic match and I’m very happy,” said Meligeni, who reached a career high ranking of No.25 in his professional career.
“It’s the first time I’ve beaten these guys on the BlackRock Tour of Champions so I’m very happy on the court and I’m enjoying playing with these guys. Goran is an unbelievable player and for me he’s one of the most charismatic players in the world. Tennis needs a guy like Goran; he is very important for tennis and we’re all very happy he’s still playing because he’s very funny and he’s a good guy off the court.”
Cedric Pioline will face Muster in the 3rd/4th place play-off after seeing off home-player Alladin Karagoz 6-3, 6-2.
Matches are played over the best of three sets, with a Champions’ Tie-break (first to 10 points with a clear advantage of two) the winner.
After Istanbul, the BlackRock Tour of Champions moves on to two of the most popular and long-standing tour-dates - Graz, Austria for the s Tennis Masters (July 29 - August 2) and then Algarve, Portugal for the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD (August 5-8).
Friday: Ivanisevic/Muster Set Up Final Eliminator In Istanbul
Thursday: Ivanisevic Hammers Furious Cash In Istanbul
The BlackRock Tour of Champions Set For Thrilling Istanbul Debut
