Goran Ivanisevic won the inaugural Turkcell Legends Cup in Istanbul, Turkey to take his first BlackRock Tour of Champions title of 2008 and jump to No.1 in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings.

A capacity crowd generated an electric atmosphere for the final, which Ivanisevic won 6-4, 6-4 against Fernando Meligeni of Brazil.

The match was closer than the scoreline suggested, but the Ivanisevic serve was the deciding factor.  In the first set, the two players exchanged breaks of serve before Ivanisevic took the decisive advantage at 4-4. Meligeni kept fighting in  the second set and made the match competitive, but again Ivanisevic broke the Meligeni serve and from then on the outcome was never in doubt.

“I played really good today and I really had a great time,” said Ivanisevic.

“It’s been such a well-organised tournament and everybody has been so welcoming and kind. I’m really grateful to play here and I hope the tournament exists next year and I hope to be here. I’m happy to be number one (in the rankings), that’s really nice. But there’s still a lot of tournaments and a lot of competition between now and then but if I play like this then it’s definitely possible (that I could finish the year No.1).”

Meligeni was disappointed to lose, but not surprised, having lost all of his three meetings with Ivanisevic on the ATP circuit.

“Always when I play Goran it’s very tough and he served unbelievably and put me under a lot of pressure,” said Meligeni.

“I think it was a good match and it was fun but I was under pressure all the time and he was definitely the deserving winner today, he played better. It’s an honour for me to be playing here and competing with these guys on the circuit.  This week has been unbelievable with great hospitality and a great welcome here in Istanbul. I would love to have the chance to come back.”

In the 3rd/4th place play-off, Cedric Pioline defeated Thomas Muster 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break).

Next, the BlackRock Tour of Champions moves on to two of the most popular and long-standing tour-dates -  Graz, Austria for the s Tennis Masters (July 29 - August 2) and then Algarve, Portugal for the Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD (August 5-8).

These are exciting times for the Tour, with former World No.1’s Pete Sampras Sao Paulo, London),  Stefan Edberg (Paris, London) and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Eindhoven) all joining the circuit for World No.1’s, Grand Slam finalists and Davis Cup winners in 2008.

The 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang  and 1996 Wimbledon finalist Malivai Washington also announced that they will join Kafelnikov at the AFAS Tennis Classics in Eindhoven, October 2-5.

Ivanisevic, Muster, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Marcelo Rios and Michael Stich will also be back in action as the year progresses.

To go inside the Borg/McEnroe rivalry and watch an exclusive video, click here: http://www.blackrocktourofchampions.com

RESULTS - SUNDAY, 20 JULY, 2008

Cedric Pioline d. Thomas Muster 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 (Champions’ Tie Break)

Goran Ivanisevic d. Fernando Meligeni 6-4, 6-4

FINAL GROUP STANDINGS

GROUP A

Matches won/lost (sets)

Fernando Meligeni                              3-0 (6-0)

Cedric Pioline                     2-1 (5-3)

Sergi Bruguera                    1-2 (3-4)

Alladin Karagoz                   0-3 (0-6)

Matches won/lost (sets)

GROUP B

Goran Ivanisevic                  3-0 (6-1)

Thomas Muster                    2-1 (5-3)

Pat Cash                                               1-2 (2-5)

Andrei Chesnokov                              0-3 (2-6)

BLACKROCK TOUR OF CHAMPIONS POINTS ALLOCATION

Winner -                400 points

Finalist -                250 points

3rd place -            200 points

4th place -            125 points

5/6th place -         80 points

7/8th place -         60 points

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS 2008 TOUR OF CHAMPIONS RANKINGS (after six events)

POS.       PLAYER                                                PTS

1              Goran Ivanisevic                  660

2              Michael Stich                        650

2=           Marcelo Rios                        650

4              Anders Jarryd                       525

5              Thomas Muster                    515

6              Pat Cash                                               420

7=           Pete Sampras                      400

7=           Cedric Pioline                 400

9              Fernando Meligeni                              375

10=         Mikael Pernfors                   330

10=         Marc-Kevin Goellner (WC)                330

12           Henri Leconte                      240

13=         Chris Wilkinson (WC)         200

13=         Jaime Oncins                       200

15           Sergi Bruguera               160

16=         Jeremy Bates (WC)             125

16=         Albert Costa                          125

18=         Magnus Larsson                  80

18=         John McEnroe                      80

18=         Andrei Cherkasov                               80

21=         Bjorn Borg                                             60

21=         Carl Uwe Steeb                   60

21=         Jaime Yzaga                                        60

21=         Alladin Karagoz (WC)        60

21=         Andrei Chesnokov                              60

WC denotes Wild Card.

The BlackRock Tour of Champions Calendar 2008

Belfast, Northern Ireland - February 21-24   (Tennis Legends) - Champions: Anders Jarryd; Runner-up: Mikael Pernfors

Barcelona, Spain - April 24-27 (Champions Cup ‘08) - Champion: Marcelo Rios; runner-up: Michael Stich

Rome, Italy - May 10-11 - Champion: Thomas Muster; runner-up: Goran Ivanisevic

Hamburg, Germany - May 14-17 (BlackRock Tennis Classic)

Champion: Michael Stich; Runner-up: Marc-Kevin Goellner

Sao Paulo, Brazil - June 19-22 (Nossa Caixa Grand Champions Brasil)

Champion: Pete Sampras; Runner-up: Marcelo Rios

Istanbul, Turkey - July 17-20

Champion: Goran Ivanisevic; Runner-up: Fernando Meligeni

Graz, Austria - July 29-August 2 (s Tennis Masters)

Algarve, Portugal - August 5-8 (Vale do Lobo Grand Champions CGD)

Paris, France - September 18-21 (5e Trophée Jean-Luc Lagardère)

Luxembourg, Luxembourg - September 25-28

Eindhoven, Netherlands - October 2-5 (AFAS Tennis Classics)

Budapest, Hungary - October 9-12

Frankfurt, Germany - November 13-16 (klarmobil.de Champions Trophy)

Brussels, Belgium - November 20-23

London, UK - December 2-7 (BlackRock Masters Tennis)

OTHER INFO

BlackRock is a premier provider of global investment management, riskmanagement and advisory services to clients around the world. The rebrand from the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions to the new BlackRock Tour of Champions,

stemmed from the merger between BlackRock and Merrill Lynch Investment Managers on the 29th September 2006. This merger united the predominantly US fixed income institutional heritage of BlackRock with that of Merrill Lynch

Investment Managers’ award-winning global retail equity franchise.

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At December 31, 2007, BlackRock’s assets under management (AUM) was US$1.357 trillion. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. In addition, a growing number of institutional investors use BlackRock Solutions(r) investment system, risk management and financial advisory services. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2007, the firm has approximately 5,500 employees in 19 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.blackrock.com.

South Africa’s international flagship airline and the continent’s most awarded carrier, South African Airways is the official airline of the BlackRock Tour of Champions. Its modern fleet features a comfortable Economy Class cabin recently reconfigured for extra legroom and a Premium Business Class cabin featuring the airline’s award-winning, lie-flat seat. Complimentary South African wines, inspired cuisine and personal on-demand entertainment for all travellers make the trip to Africa fly by. Built on a venerable 72-year history of bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world, the airline’s network is unsurpassed on the continent - connecting travellers to more than 20 destinations within South Africa and more than 20 cities across Africa. As a recent member to the worldwide Star Alliance, South African Airways is now able to offer its customers 852 destinations in 152 countries and more than 15,500 flights daily.

For the Latest News, Features and Updates from the BlackRock Tour of Champions: www.blackrocktourofchampions.com

and for further information:

www.blackrockinternational.com/tourofchampions