Tennis: Past champions set for capital date with ATP Champions Tour

By DAVID FERGUSON
Published on 19/07/2012 00:00

SOME of the stars of tennis from the past four decades will be jostling for position in Edinburgh next summer after it was 
revealed that the ATP Champions Tour is to come to Scotland for the first time.

The growing popularity of tennis in the UK in the wake of Andy Murray’s rise to fame awoke interest in the ATP to Scotland, and the collective bargaining of EventScotland, Edinburgh city council and organiser Viki Mendelssohn has succeeded in securing the event for an initial three years.

Wimbledon champions John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic have been joined in recent years on the ‘Champions’ circuit by Pat Rafter, Michael Chang and former World No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The organisers will begin to confirm later this year who will be playing in the first Edinburgh “Champions of Tennis”, to be held at a temporary state-of-the-art court from 19-22 June 2013 – the week leading up to 
Wimbledon.

Mendelssohn, the tournament director, said: “I think 
Scotland has been crying out for a tennis event like this.”

For more information and to register for tickets go to: www.championsoftennis.com’.