Former world number one, Ivan Lendl, was forced to withdraw from the Statoil Masters Tennis 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Champions Tour event taking place in London, Great Britain. Elsewhere, Tim Henman and Fabrice Santoro stole the show and progressed on Wednesday.
The Czechoslovakian-born Lendl was making his debut at the Royal Albert Hall. However, he was forced to retire from this tournament with his knee and hip injury.
Lendl, coach of the British number one and the world number three Andy Murray, stated in a press conference, “I am very disappointed that I will not be fit enough to play in the Statoil Masters Tennis in London. I have been looking forward to playing in the tournament all year having heard so much about it. For now I will concentrate on fixing and rehabilitating my knee and hip but I hope to be able to play at the Royal Albert Hall in the future.”
In this 16th edition of the tournament, Guy Forget will replace Lendl in Group A of the Legends category. Forget will face off the former world number one John McEnroe in the evening session on Friday. He will then square off against the former British number one, Jeremy Bates, in the afternoon session on Saturday.
In Group B, former world number one Mats Wilander stomped over Australia’s Pat Cash in a three-set thriller. He made an epic comeback from a set down to manipulate a 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 victory. Elsewhere, the British legend Tim Henman bounced back to outclass Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist in a repeat of last year’s final showdown.
Australia drop troubled Tomic from Davis Cup team
Australia will not consider Bernard Tomic for their Davis Cup tie against Taiwan in February because of doubts about his commitment, Tennis Australia said on Thursday.
Tomic, 20, was dubbed “Tomic the Tank Engine” this season after appearing to give up towards the end of a string of matches as he tumbled from a career-high world number 27 to his current ranking of 52.
“As a team, we just felt that part of the commitment that we make to athletes and athletes make to the sport is they always put 100 per cent commitment and effort in competing for their country,” director of tennis Craig Tiley told the Tennis Australia website (www.tennis.com.au).
“It’s not one specific incident, just an aggregation of his approach to the game …
“We just felt that this decision should provide additional motivation every time he walks on the court to be a total professional in his approach to not only his preparation but competing in the match and post-match.
“And it would be no different if he was the number one player in Australia, or the number one player, or a junior.”
Tomic’s late season slump lost him the title of Australian number one with Marinko Matosevic taking over as the country’s top ranked player.
Australia, who lost a World Group playoff to Germany in September to extend their stay outside the Davis Cup elite, face Taiwan in a Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie in Kaohsiung from Feb. 1-3.
