Tennis legends in city . . we are being serious!

Big-name players including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Tim Henman could all lock horns in Edinburgh after city chiefs launched a bid to host an event as part of the 2013 Association of Tennis Professionals’ (ATP) Champions Tour.

The tour, which stops off in cities including Zurich, Stockholm, Sao Paulo, Santiago and London, features veterans who play exhibition matches in a competitive environment.

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre, which is currently undergoing a major upgrade, would be among the favourites to host the tournament if Edinburgh manages to secure it.

The competition is being hailed as an ideal way to build on the “Andy Murray effect” and continue the growth in popularity of tennis in Scotland.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, the city’s festivals and events champion, said: “Certainly there’s an opportunity of bringing big names to Edinburgh to play tennis and it could be hugely popular.

“You get an opportunity to watch events like Wimbledon on TV but very few people have actually gone down to watch it, so this would be a big opportunity to see the tennis greats on your doorstep.

“Despite no longer being at the top of their game, these players have still got a great deal of power and skills, so it would be a great event to see live.

“Exhibition matches are taken seriously but they are usually a bit of fun as well. To see the likes of John McEnroe or Bjorn Borg now would be great and you’d maybe see them relaxed and taking more risks than they might in a competitive match.”

Talks are continuing and it is hoped the event will be confirmed for the summer of 2013 within the next few months.

Other sporting spectacles being lined up by the council include a Sky Ride mass participation cycling event, the Great Edinburgh Cross Country and Great Winter Run, and pre-Olympic basketball and volleyball matches for the Team GB sides.

David Macdermid, a spokesman for Tennis Scotland, said: “It is something that Tennis Scotland would very much welcome. Any high-profile event always helps the sport and for the Champions Tour there’s a whole generation of tennis fans for whom these were the heroes of their day so it would give a lot of people the chance to see them in the flesh. “The profile of the sport, thanks to Andy [Murray], has reached levels hitherto never dreamed of but we can’t be complacent and this kind of event is something that could help maintain that.

“If this does come to Edinburgh we would be supportive and would try to ensure it could become a regular event.”

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