McEnroe, Borg, Chang Set For Landmark Event In China

John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Michael Chang and the rest of the field at the Chengdu Open were all smiles as they got together a day before the first-ever ATP Champions Tour event in China on Wednesday. The Tour is making its debut visit to the city of Chengdu, home of the Giant Panda, and the stars were hugely impressed with what they found upon arrival.

At a press conference to launch the event at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, McEnroe said: “It’s great to be here in Chengdu. Everything so far looks great and it’s a really nice stadium here. This is the first ever ATP Champions Tour event in China so that’s really exciting. With all the players we’ve got here I’m sure this is going to be a really good week.”

The American has been drawn into a round-robin group with old rival Borg, and fellow Wimbledon champions Goran Ivanisevic and Pat Cash, while Chang will face French Open champions Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Sergi Bruguera, and Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist.

For Borg, a chance to play McEnroe again is always one to treasure, but it isn’t his only goal for the tournament. “I’m looking forward to my matches, and my aim for the week is to try and take a giant panda back to Sweden with me,” he said.

For Chang, a Chinese American, the event is even more special. “I always love coming to China because it’s a really important place for me," said Chang. "I’ve never been to Chengdu before so this is really exciting. My wife Amber and I have had a few days to explore before the tournaments starts and we’ve really loved it. I’m very excited to be here and everyone has been so welcoming."

Matches begin on Thursday at 4pm local time, with Kafelnikov taking on Bruguera. It will be followed by Borg against Ivanisevic, Chang versus Enqvist, and McEnroe against Cash.

All players in each group will play each other over a round-robin format, and after all round-robin matches are complete, the top player in each group will meet in the final. The runner-up in each group will play off for the third place position. Matches are played over the best of three sets with a Champions’ Tie-break (first to 10 points with a clear advantage of two) deciding the winner of matches that are tied at one-set-all.

For latest scores, gossip and updates, follow us on Twitter. To view the order of play and the round-robin groups from Chengdu, click on Results. You can also view the latest South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.