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Race to Hannover

SportsLine staff

PARIS -- The results of the last Mercedes Super 9 event of the year, the 14eme Open de Paris, and the release of the Stockholm and Moscow draws put an end to the closest and most exciting ever Race to Hannover, where the ATP Tour World Championship will be played from Nov. 23-28.

At the beginning of the week, only two players (Andre Agassi, Yevgeny Kafelnikov) had qualified for Hannover. During the week both Gustavo Kuerten and Pete Sampras earned berths, while Nicolas Kiefer, Todd Martin, Thomas Enqvist and Nicolas Lapentti qualified today after the Moscow draw was released.

"With all I've been through this year, it's nice to still qualify for Hannover," Sampras said. "Getting in every year this decade is an achievement I'll be able to look back on one day when my career's over and be proud of.

Right now, I'm just hoping to get healthy so I can go to Hannover and compete for one of the biggest titles we have in the game. I've got some great memories from previous World Championships, like playing (Boris) Becker in front of a packed house in the '96 final, and I'd like to be able to end the year on a positive note."

"I wanna open a champagne with my family to celebrate this, but I won't celebrate too hard. I want to rest and practice to be in perfect shape for the championship," said Kuerten who will be the first Brazilian player to compete at the year-end event.

The alternate spot will go to Richard Krajicek, Tommy Haas or Tim Henman. Haas, must reach the Stockholm final with maximum bonus points to overtake Krajicek. Henman must win Stockholm to have a chance. No. 9 Marcelo Rios is sidelined with a groin injury while Krajicek will not play in either Moscow or Stockholm.

The 1999 ATP Tour World Championship, hosted for the fourth and last year by Hannover in association with EXPO 2000, will feature the Top 8 players in the November 15 ATP Tour Rankings and will be staged at the "EXPO Tennis Dome", the largest column-free exhibition hall in Europe. The 2000 ATP Tour World Championship will be played in Lisbon, Portugal, and the event will move to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2001.

Race to Hannover as of Nov. 1:

Rank Player Points Notes
1 Andre Agassi 4521/4650 Won the World Championship in 1990
2 Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3127 Qualified for the last five years (1995-99)
3 Gustavo Kuerten 2563 First Brazilian to play year-end event
4 Pete Sampras 2384 Qualified for every World Championship (1990-99)
5 Nicolas Kiefer 2322 First appearance at the World Championship
6 Todd Martin 2319 First appearance at the World Championship
7 Thomas Enqvist 2310 Qualified for the World Championship in '95 and '96
8 Nicolas Lapentti 2283 First Appearance at the World Championship
9 Marcelo Rios 2245 Out with a groin injury
10 Richard Krajicek 2095 Not playing Stockholm nor Moscow
11 Tommy Haas 1921 Must reach the Stockholm final to be the alternate
12 Tim Henman 1920 Must win Stockholm to be the alternate

* The Race to Hannover is based on best 14 points earned in 1999 only and will coincide with the ATP Tour rankings on Nov. 15.

** The best 14 points in 1999 are the minimum points a player is assured of having in attempting to qualify for the ATP Tour World Championship.