It was yesterday once more in Dubai

Dubai: Some of the greatest tennis names of yesteryears thrilled a near-full arena of spectators at the Madinat Jumeirah on the opening day of The Legends Rock Dubai yesterday evening.

The second edition of the popular tennis show being held in Dubai drew an appreciative audience, who cheered the two singles players Peter McNamara and Guy Forget as emcee Bob Connor led them on court.

Next on was chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh, who in the past has officiated in matches involving all eight players at this year's Legends Rock Dubai. John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Emilio Sanchez, Ilie Nastase, Henri Leconte and Mansour Bahrami are the other players for this year's event.

The singles was a single set with the winner being the one reaching nine points first. Forget preferred playing from the baseline, while his Australian opponent mixed it up well with his serve and volley display.

"It's one of those times when the scoreline really does not matter," Forget said.

"It is so satisfying to see people happy seeing us play, and we both loved every moment on court," added McNamara.

The second singles between Henri Leconte and Emilio Sanchez, who both share an amazing 84 men's titles between the two of them, was equally interesting with the Spaniard making the first break in the seventh for a 4-3 cushion. But Leconte broke right back and then held serve to go 5-4 clear.