Chang and McEnroe Suffer Nail-Biting Defeats

Michael Chang and John McEnroe both suffered defeat after nail-biting 13-11 Tie-Breaks at the ATP Champions Tour event in Chengdu, China on Friday. Chang saw his hopes of qualifying for Sunday’s final all but disappear in a 6-2, 3-6, 13-11(Champions’ Tie-Break) loss, while McEnroe lost a first set Tie-Break by the same score before going down 7-6(11), 6-4 to Goran Ivanisevic.

It means that Ivanisevic tops Group A with a 100% record, while Thomas Enqvist heads Group B with one day of round-robin matches still to go. Enqvist saw off former World Number One Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-3, 6-4. The other match of the day involved Pat Cash and Bjorn Borg, with the Australian triumphing 7-6(4), 6-3.

It was particularly disappointing day for Chang, who had desperately wanted to reward a crowd that backed him every step of the way.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating today, obviously,” said Chang. “Sergi came out and was playing some good tennis in the beginning. I started to find a little bit of a rhythm, some much better tennis in the second set, and kind of took that into the third set tiebreaker. I had my chances but I think I just got a little bit tight, kind of waiting for the ball a little too much and wasn’t able to close it out in the end. The crowd was great. Certainly, it’s always nice to play in China, it’s always great to be able to have the crowd support when I play here. I think it’s part of the reason I’ve done so well in the past.”

Ivanisevic was delighted with his win over McEnroe, who had pushed him closely in all of their previous meetings on the ATP Champions Tour.

"What he can do with a racquet is just beautiful to watch,” said Ivanisevic. “Sometimes I lose the point, but it’s still nice. What he can do with the ball, it’s just beautiful. McEnroe was my idol, my number one, he is the guy I admire the most, so for me to beat him is always a pleasure. We both have the temper, but when I was arguing, I lost the next six games, [but when McEnroe argues] he wins next six games -- that’s the thing I learned from him.”

On Saturday, the match of the day will pit McEnroe against his old rival Bjorn Borg. For an insight into their rivalry, 29 years since their classic 1980 Wimbledon final, click here.

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.