Henman vs. Blake; and Jamie Murray Signs Up As Royal Albert Hall Schedule Released

The draw for Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall, 2-6 December has been made, with Tim Henman and James Blake set to clash in the round-robin stages.

Henman and Blake both reached a peak ranking of No.4 in the world, and met just once in their professional careers, with Henman winning 6-3, 6-3 in Canada in 2002. They will clash for a second time at the Royal Albert Hall in the evening session on Wednesday 2nd December. Younes El Aynaoui completes the group. Wednesday will also see the introduction of Davis Cup hero Jamie Murray, who is due to play in doubles matches in both the afternoon and evening sessions.

Last year’s champion Fernando Gonzalez has been drawn in Group B against Sebastian Grosjean and Wimbledon semi-finalist Xavier Malisse. The winner of each group will clash in the ATP Champions Tour Final on the afternoon of Sunday December 6th. 

The event will also feature a series of Legends exhibition matches headlined by seven-time Grand Slam Champion and Royal Albert Hall favourite John McEnroe. The American will face off against old rival Mats Wilander on Thursday evening before taking on flamboyant Frenchman Henri Leconte in the Sunday evening session. Every session also includes a doubles match, and the ever-popular Mansour Bahrami will return, along with the 1987 Wimbledon Champion, Pat Cash.

On Saturday 5th December, Tie Break Tens will launch. A new, exciting format of quick-fire tennis, Tie Break Tens will be headlined by World No.2 Andy Murray. He is joined by Henman, Davis Cup team-mate Kyle Edmund and World No.7 David Ferrer. A fifth player is still be announced, and a sixth will qualify from the Champions Tennis field. Each of the ten matches at Tie Break Tens will be contested over a first-to-ten-point tie-break. The six-man field will be drawn into two groups of three players, using a round-robin format. The top two players in each group will go through to the semifinals, with the winner taking away a cheque for $250,000.

There will also be a number of new initiatives for the crowd to enjoy on and off the court at this year’s Champions Tennis. The tournament will feature ‘Aegon Crowd Call’ for the first time; a new, unique line-calling system where spectators hold up cards which read ‘in’ or ‘out’. Saturday afternoon will be ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ where, as well as being encouraged to wear their loudest Christmas knitwear, visitors will enjoy a jazz band. There will be player autograph sessions in the public areas each day.

Spectators arriving on Saturday morning can upgrade to a Family Advantage Pack where kids can get tips from players, enjoy Santa’s Grotto and find out about ‘Miss-Hits’ from Judy Murray. Kids can also have their faces and nails painted, hair braided, and experience the magical world of ‘George and the Ice Cream Castle’.

FULL ORDER OF PLAY*

ATP Champions Tour Singles

Group A Blake, El Aynaoui, Henman
Group B Gonzalez, Grosjean, Malisse

Wednesday 2nd December

At 1.30pm Gonzalez v Malisse
Larsson/Leconte v Murray/Wilander

At 7.30pm Blake v Henman
Grosjean /Murray v El Aynaoui/Pernfors

Thursday 3rd December

At 1.30pm Grosjeanv Gonzalez
Cash/Larsson v El Aynaoui/Leconte

At 7.30pm McEnroe v Wilander
Bahrami/Malisse v Henman/Pernfors

Friday 4th December

At 1.30pm Grosjean v Malisse
Bahrami/Larsson v Pernfors/Wilander
Tie Break Tens Qualifier Blake v Malisse

At 7.30pm Blake v El Aynaoui
Tie Break Tens Qualifier El Aynaoui v Gonzalez
Cash/Grosjean v Gonzalez/Leconte 

Saturday 5th December

At 1.00pm El Aynaoui v Henman
Tie Break Tens Qualifier Finals
Bahrami/McEnroe v Cash/Pernfors
LIVE ON SKY SPORTS

At 6.00pm Tie Break Tens – Andy Murray, Tim Henman, David Ferrer, Kyle Edmund, a qualifier and one player TBC
LIVE ON SKY SPORTS

Sunday 6th December

At 11.45am ATP Champions Tour Final
Bahrami/TBC v Pernfors/TBC

At 4.00 pm  Leconte v McEnroe
Cash/TBC v Larsson/Wilander

*All timings may be subject to change and are dependent on the length of play. The Management reserves the right to alter the order of play at any time.

Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall is the season-finale of the ATP Champions Tour and is played over five days, with two sessions each day – one in the afternoon, one in the evening, with a mixture of singles and doubles matches. 
 
Champions Tennis has enjoyed record ticket sales for 2015 and the last remaining tickets are available from £23.50 at www.royalalberthall.com/tennis or by calling the Royal Albert Hall box office on +44 (0) 20 7070 4404. Hospitality packages are available via www.championstennis.co.uk/hospitality/ or by calling +44 (0) 20 8233 5854.
 
For more information about Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall, go to www.championstennis.co.uk

For more information about Tie Break Tens, go to www.tiebreaktens.com