Sampras prepared to take China bow in Chengdu
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Pete Sampras will make his China debut in October when he plays in the Chengdu Open, an ATP Champions Tour Event.
The Champions Tour includes former world No 1 players, Grand Slam singles winners and runners-up and players who were part of Davis Cup-winning teams during their time on the Tour.
In addition to 14-time Grand Slam champion Sampras, the Chengdu event will include defending champion Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, former singles and doubles No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, Wimbledon champions Pat Cash of Australia and Michael Stich of Germany, two-time US Open winner Pat Rafter of Australia, Davis Cup winner Guy Forget of France and wild-card entry Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand.
Enqvist, the current Champions Tour No 1, said in a video message to the tournament that he is anxious to challenge Sampras in Chengdu.
"I am really looking forward to coming back to Chengdu and trying to defend my title," said Enqvist, the current Swedish Davis Cup Captain who also holds a 21-1 record on the Champions Tour.
"I had a fantastic time there last year and I'm looking forward to playing Pete Sampras."
The eight players in the field combined to hold 150 ATP singles titles and 62 doubles titles. Seven of the players reached the top five on the Tour, and all eight were ranked in the top 10.
Co-organized by the municipal government of Chengdu and CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company, the tournament will take place from Oct 21-24 at the Sichuan International Tennis Center.
Players will be divided into two round-robin groups of four. The first group, called the "Panda Group", consists of Sampras, Paradorn, Forget and Cash, while the "Chili Group" features Enqvist, Rafter, Stich and Kafelnikov. The two group winners will advance to the final.
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