Ivanisevic Seeks Success In Barcelona

Goran Ivanisevic will arrive in Barcelona on Thursday intent on winning a tournament on the ATP Champions Tour that he never managed to conquer in his unique ATP World Tour career.

Ivanisevic played five times at the famous old Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, and only once went beyond the first round. Typically, in the one year that he did so (in 1995), he went all the way to the semifinals, beating home favourite and former French Open finalist Alberto Berasategui along the way.

The Croatian will have his work cut out if he is to win this title. He will be up against a six-man field featuring two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera, big-hitting South African Wayne Ferreira, and a man unbeaten since joining the ATP Champions Tour - Thomas Enqvist.

“I’m delighted to be playing again in Barcelona,” said Ivanisevic. “I played a number of times in the ATP event, and reached the semifinals once. The players always feel very welcome at the tournament, and the Club is a fantastic venue. I expect to arrive in good rhythm and hope to have a chance to take the title.”

Enqvist has won all four of the tournaments that he has contested since joining the circuit a year ago, but clay is his least preferred surface. In 12 appearances at Roland Garros, the Swede only reached the last 16 once, so it will be interesting to see if the surface in Barcelona can blunt his immense power. He only played the event twice on the ATP World Tour, but reached the semifinals in 2001 to show that he is capable of succeeding on the surface.

The list of participants is rounded off with Mikael Pernfors of Sweden, a finalist at Roland Garros in 1986, and Juan Balcells, a member of the victorious Spanish 2000 Davis Cup team.

The event will be played from 16th – 18th April with two matches per day, starting at 1pm. The final will be played on Sunday, after the match for 3rd place. Both of these matches will be broadcast on Teledeporte in Spain from 10pm.

The event has a new, but familiar tournament director in former French Open champion Albert Costa.

“This is the fifth consecutive year that we will host an ATP Champions Tour event and it undoubtedly gives extra prestige to the Barcelona Open BancSabadell,” said Costa. “It is an exceptional opportunity for the public to enjoy even more tennis during the first weekend of the event.”

Barcelona is the fourth of ten stops on the ATP Champions Tour, which culminates with a season-ending AEGON Masters event at London’s Royal Albert Hall from 30th November to 5th December. The season began in February in Delray Beach, where Pat Rafter beat John McEnroe in the final. At the second event in Zurich in March, Stefan Edberg overcame Goran Ivanisevic in three sets. The most recent event saw Thomas Enqvist beat Wayne Ferreira in the final in Bogotá, having swept through the tournament without the loss of a set. After Barcelona, the tour will also call in at Sao Paulo, Brasil, followed by events in Graz (Austria), Algarve (Portugal), Paris (France) and London (UK).

Tickets for the ATP Champions Tour, as well as those for the remaining days of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell are now on sale via the Servicaixa network, online at www.servicaixa.com or by telephone on + 34 93 326 89 18.