ATP CHAMPIONS TOUR
BNP PARIBAS ZURICH OPEN
SALSPORTSHALLE, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
9-13 MARCH, 2010
INDOOR

10th March, 2010

IVANISEVIC EXTENDS CILIC COACHING ROLE; STARTS WELL IN ZURICH

Goran Ivanisevic demolished Michael Chang on day one of the ATP Champions Tour event in Zurich and then announced that he is to continue coaching the World Number Nine Marin Cilic on a part-time basis.

Ivanisevic, who dispatched Chang 6-4, 7-6(3), will travel with the Australian Open semifinalist to the Masters 1000 events in Miami and Madrid in a continuation of a relationship that began at the Zagreb tournament in February. Cilic won that event.

The 21-year-old is coached on a full-time basis by Ivanisevic’s former coach Bob Brett, but in Miami and Madrid Brett will take a step back and allow his old protégé to take the reigns.

“It should be fun," said Ivanisevic. "Bob is still his coach but in Miami and Madrid I am going to be his replacement while he is not there. I will be like a mentor to Marin.”

It was Ivanisevic who first brought a 15-year-old Cilic to Brett’s attention in 2004, and the pair have worked together ever since at Brett's academy in San Remo, Italy.

Ivanisevic is so determined to win the BNP Paribas Zurich Open this week and then follow up successfully at the inaugural Seguros Bolivar Tennis Champions in Bogota, Colombia, that he has spent weeks practicing with Cilic. He believes it has done the trick - he moved well throughout against Chang and even hit a couple of serves timed at 218km/h (135mp/h).

“I practiced with Marin for a couple of weeks in February and I’m feeling very well prepared for this event. Hitting with Marin has really helped me. I hope the speed gun is accurate here, because 218km/h is good. Hopefully I can go even faster this week. I’ll definitely try. This event is really nice and the court is absolutely perfect as well so I’m really enjoying it here.”

Elsewhere in Zurich on Tuesday, Yevgeny Kafelnikov recorded his biggest win to-date on the ATP Champions Tour with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 (Champions Tie Break) defeat of two-time Roland Garros champion Sergi Bruguera. Richard Krajicek was also a winner on day one. The 1996 Wimbledon Champion beat Frenchman Henri Leconte 6-4, 7-6(4).

Matches are played over the best of three sets, with a Champions’ Tie-break (first to 10 points with a clear advantage of two) to decide the winner. After all round-robin matches are complete, the top two players in each group will meet in the final.

After Zurich, the ATP Champions Tour will move on to Bogota, Colombia for the city’s first ever ATP Champions Tour event, The Seguors Bolivar Champions Tennis (March 18-21). After that the Tour will arrive in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the fourth annual Grand Champions Brazil.


 

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