Dubai: Two of the greatest tennis legends will 'renew' their rivalry in Dubai later this year.
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg have both confirmed their presence for the annual Legends Rock Dubai , to be held at the Madinat Jumeirah from October 31-November 2.
"Borg has promised to come for a second year running and though we are yet to sign the formal agreement, McEnroe has also promised to be here," Farbod Dowlatshahi, President of organisers Delwood said at the press conference yesterday. "This will be the last time ever that these two greats will face each other in a competitive match," Dowlatshahi stated.
After retiring from the ATP Tour, both McEnroe and Borg have led contrasting lives.
Life after tennis
McEnroe has continued to stay in touch with the sport by commentating for a television channel and participating in Senior Tour events, while Borg has preferred leading a quiet life with his wife and children.
However, both players have agreed for an encore one last time right here in Dubai. "I hope their meeting will be something similar to what we witnessed during the 1980 Wimbledon final," Farbod stated. Borg and McEnroe will only be the highlight of yet another promising line-up of tennis legends on three days of the event.
Also appearing in Dubai for a second year in this event will be Ilie Nastase, Henri Leconte, Guy Forget and Mansour Bahrami along with newcomers Emilio Sanchez of Spain and Peter McNamara from Australia.
The sponsors promised to take the event a step higher by possibly turning it into a serious Masters competition on the Seniors Tour.
"We are ambitious for this tournament and we want to change this into one of the biggest events on the Senior Tour within the next five years," Farbod promised.
Profiting from the three days will be at least two charities, one of them the Dubai Centre for Special Needs, with the proceeds of the gala dinner auction going their way.
Cadillac has stepped in as one of the sponsors this year. General Motors will provide the newly-launched Cadillac Escalade as the official event vehicle for the three days. "This event is a key alliance opportunity for us and we hope this will be for the long haul too," said Chase Hawkins, Director for Cadillac, Hummer, Opel and Saab.
This event will see the introduction of a competitive element between players. "The singles matches will be on a more serious note, while in the doubles we will see more fun," stated Mehbod Dowlatshahi, Managing Director at Delwood.
