Lendl to make debut; drawn to play McEnroe in the celebration of the Wightman Cup

Added on: September 20, 2011

Former World No.1 Ivan Lendl will play in London for the first time since retiring from professional tennis in 1993 after signing up to compete at the AEGON Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall, November 30 – December 4.

Lendl is confirmed not only to make his AEGON Masters Tennis debut, but also to face off against old adversary John McEnroe on the Friday evening session of the event, in what will be a special one-night celebration of The Wightman Cup, the popular team tennis event that was played at the Royal Albert Hall between 1978 and 1989.

Legend Lendl is excited about his Royal Albert Hall debut, and the chance to resume his longstanding rivalry with McEnroe.

“This is an event I’ve heard so many good things about, I’m really looking forward to be playing there for the first time,” said Lendl. “The Royal Albert Hall has so much history. John and I recently played at Madison Square Garden in New York so to have another match together in a venue with so much tradition should make for a great atmosphere for the event.”

In honour of the Wightman Cup trophy returning to the historic venue for the first time in 22 years, Friday’s evening session at the AEGON Masters Tennis will feature the hugely anticipated singles match between McEnroe and Lendl, as well as a doubles match featuring the likes of Pat Rafter, Goran Ivanisevic and Tim Henman.

Victory in each of the matches will be worth one point to the Wightman Cup teams (Europe and The Rest of the World), and in the event of a tie after the doubles match, a deciding tie break will be played between two of the doubles players. The winning team will be presented with the original Wightman Cup trophy, that has in the past been held aloft by the likes of Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade and Chris Evert.

President of the LTA Peter Bretherton is delighted that the Wightman Cup will be celebrated at this year’s AEGON Masters Tennis.

“The Wightman Cup has a very long and distinguished history,” he said. “I hope that in its new reincarnation, it can continue to inspire all generations to play tennis”.

Friday evening’s singles match between McEnroe and Lendl will be one of the most hotly anticipated of the year on the ATP Champions Tour, as it will bring the latest installment in one of the fiercest rivalries tennis has ever seen.

Lendl and McEnroe played against each other 36 times in their professional careers, with Lendl leading their overall head-to-head 21-15.

For McEnroe, Lendl will always be the man that broke his heart in the 1984 French Open final, a match he led by two sets to love before having his hopes crushed by a spectacular Lendl comeback. Despite their well-documented differences on and off the court however, McEnroe has always appreciated his rivalry with Czech-born Lendl.

“There’s always been a mutual respect with us even though we were fighting it out on and off the court,” said McEnroe. “But as the years go by you realise that those were some of the best years of your life and we made each other better players.”

Now 51 and 52 respectively, Lendl and McEnroe’s one and only meeting so far on the ATP Champions Tour came in Paris in October 2010, and on that occasion it was McEnroe who came out on top as Lendl was forced to retire injured while trailing by a set and a break. Now fitter and faster after a year’s intensive training, Lendl is certain to be hunting for revenge in London.

To purchase tickets for the Friday evening Wightman Cup session of the AEGON Masters Tennis book online or call the Box Office on: +44 (0) 20 7070 4404.

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