Magician Santoro to replace injured Rusedski at Royal Albert Hall

Added on: November 22, 2011

Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, a player long known as the ‘Little Magician’ of the tennis world, is to make his debut on the ATP Champions Tour at the AEGON Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall next month, it was announced today. He will replace Britain’s Greg Rusedski, who was forced to withdraw from the tournament because of a foot injury he sustained at a Champions Tour event in Santiago earlier this month.

Famed for his unorthodox playing style and crowd-pleasing trickery, Tahiti-born Santoro not only holds the record for the most appearances in singles competition at Grand Slam events (70), but also achieved the incredible feat of being the only male player to have competed in Grand Slams events in four different decades, from the 1989 French Open to the 2010 Australian Open.

The 38-year-old is delighted to be making his ATP Champions Tour debut at the world-famous Royal Albert Hall.

“I am very excited to be playing on the ATP Champions Tour for the first time in London at the AEGON Masters Tennis,” he said. “I have been looking forward to having the chance to play on this Tour and I feel lucky to be able to do this at the Royal Albert Hall. I have heard from many of the players what an incredible venue and event it is, and I look forward to experiencing that and also having the chance to play again with some of my old friends and rivals.”

Rusedski, the 2008 AEGON Masters Tennis finalist, was disappointed at having to withdraw from an event where he has had so much past success.

“I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to play in the AEGON Masters Tennis tournament this year,” he said. “I injured a ligament in my foot playing at the tournament in Chile last week. I was hoping it might improve in time to play in London as I love to play in front of the British crowds and the Royal Albert Hall is an amazing place, but the doctor has told me that I won’t be able to play at a competitive level for the next month. I hope to be back next year.”

Santoro will take Rusedski’s place in Group A of the ATP Champions Tour competition, meaning he faces round robin match-ups against charismatic Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui and British Favourite Tim Henman. Group B pitches 2010 AEGON Masters Tennis Champion Goran Ivanisevic against former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis and 1999 Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist.

New for 2011, a separate four-man legends contest featuring John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Pat Cash and Henri Leconte has also been added to the tournament. They will face each other over a round-robin format. An all-star doubles line-up will be announced soon.

One of the other major highlights of the schedule is the much-awaited grudge match between Lendl and McEnroe in the evening session on Friday 2nd December. That match will be part of a celebration of the Wightman Cup.

To purchase tickets for the AEGON Masters Tennis, click here

or call the Box Office on 020 8233 5880.

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