John McEnroe will take on Mats Wilander in the final showdown – Statoil Masters Tennis 2012
American star John McEnroe will face off his fellow former world number one, Mats Wilander from Sweden, in the legends title-round at the Statoil Masters Tennis 2012, an ATP Champions Tour event taking place in London, Great Britain.
McEnroe outclassed the French legend, Guy Forget, in straight sets at these British courts. He nudged up a 6-2, 6-4 victory against the Frenchman, who replaced the injured Ivan Lendl at this event. The American veteran held his entire serves with poise and
broke Forget’s serve three times to dominate in this match.
“He’s worked really hard, and he’s someone I have to be really careful against,” the American commented about Wilander.
The 53-year-old started his campaign by registering an epic straight set victory against the local star, Jeremy Bates. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-1 success against the last year’s runner-up.
The Swedish legend on the other hand secured his first final berth at the Royal Albert Hall. He triumphed over the former world number five, Henri Leconte, in straight sets to secure a place in the final round. Wilander dropped his serve once but broke his
rival’s serve several times, eventually registering a 6-2, 7-5 score line.
The 48-year-old bounced back to outsmart Pat Cash in his opening match. He made a sloppy entry but quickly found his rhythm to clobber a 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 victory.
Wilander reflected about his next match-up, “It’s always fun to play against John McEnroe. We actually played 15 times on the regular tour and he is up by one! We’ve played a lot on the ATP Champions Tour though and he has always had my number - I’ve only
beaten him once in maybe 15 tries! But two sets on a slower court like this will be fun. I know he’s going to be fired up - he calls this the ‘Wimbledon of the Champions Tour’, which I have to agree with him, so that’s going to be a treat.”
McEnroe has recorded multiple victories against the Swedish star on the Champions Tour. Regardless of Wilander’s great run of form in this tournament, the American star will register a 6-4, 5-7, 10-6 score line.
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