Albert Costa struggled to defeat McEnroe but eventually lifted the trophy at the first edition of the Senior Masters Cup. The Spaniard won 3-6, 6-3, 12-10 after going to match point against the American in front of 2600 spectators
The freshness of the younger Roland Garros champion, Albert Costa, was too much for the American veteran John McEnroe (7 Grand Slams). However, Costa didn’t have it easy and needed to hold out until the last moment to clinch the title with a super tiebreak.
“I came out on court eager to battle it out to the bitter end and cause problems for Albert, and I think I did it. He’s exceptional on clay courts and right from the start I gave it everything to see if I could surprise him,” said the American, who added “it was an incredible tournament. I miss coming to Marbella to play, and I’ve enjoyed being back here again.”
McEnroe went 4-1 up playing a deep game that caused problems for Albert who was visibly surprised by the level of play from his opponent. “John played incredibly well and put me under a lot of pressure right from the beginning. He took a 4-1 lead making it impossible for me to win back the first set. After, I got more into my game, but the truth is it was nothing short of a miracle to win the super tiebreak,” concluded Costa.
The final of the Senior Masters Cup was the highlight of a session played in front of a full house. Hundreds of people turned up to enjoy a day of tennis that started at midday with a paddle tennis exhibition from some of the world’s leading players (the nº 5 Juani Mieres, nº 8 Miguel Lamperti, nº 12 Agustín Gómez Silingo and the nº 19 Marcelo Jardim) against the tennis legends (Yannick Noah, Younes El Aynaoui, Sebastian Grosjean, Albert Costa, Mats Wilander).
Late in the afternoon, those attending got the chance to enjoy an exhibition doubles match between some of the tournament’s stars who were previously knocked out of the competition. The four players were incredible, and the encouraging crowd loved every minute of the showdown with mutual involvement and lots of laughter. The tennis legends doubles match was followed by one of the most emotional parts of the night with a tribute paid to the former tennis player Manolo Santana and the Tennis Club’s centre court being dedicated to Santana last Saturday evening.
More than 2600 spectators enjoyed the final. The event came to a close with a party featuring Yannick Noah’s band who delighted more than 400 guests packed into the VIP Lounge.
