LIVERPOOL tennis fans will have to wait for their first glimpse of French Open finalist Robin Soderling.

The Swede, who stunned Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros earlier this month, was due to open the Liverpool International at Calderstones Park today.

But due to an extended training camp abroad, Soderling will not now be in action until tomorrow.

Tournament organiser Anders Borg believes that the 24-year-old, who has risen rapidly up the ATP rankings this year, will be worth waiting for.

“We’re thrilled that Robin will be joining us this week,” he said. “He underlines the reputation we have built at the Liverpool International for finding young up and coming talent.

“Over the years Ivan Ljubcic, David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic have all played in Liverpool and gone on to break into the top 10 and Jamie Murray competed in one of his first professional outings here in 2006.”

Soderling has risen to number 12 in the ATP rankings as a result of his Parisian heroics and is looking forward to his trip to Merseyside.

The Liverpool International will feature its usual mix of tennis legends and established ATP stars.

Tennis kings Mats Wilander and Michael Stich, with 10 grand slams between them, will dominate the legends event, while at the other end of the spectrum England’s best junior – Liam Broady – is to star in his first senior tournament.

Mats Wilander, 45, a former world number one, won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three French Opens, three Australian Opens and one US Open title), and one Grand Slam men’s doubles title (at Wimbledon) between 1982 and 1988 – winning three Grand Slam titles in that final year.

Having twice won the Australian Open when it was still played on grass, the Swedish ace is one of only four men (along with Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to have won Grand Slam singles titles on grass, hard, and clay courts. Wilander won his fourth career Grand Slam singles title at the age of 20, the youngest man in history to have achieved that feat.

Stich, a former world number two who famously beat fellow German Boris Becker in straight sets at the Wimbledon final in 1991, will be in action every day at Calderstones. Playing for Germany, Stich won both the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup in 1993 and also helped Germany win the World Team Cup in 1994.

Stich, who also won the men’s doubles titles at both Wimbledon (with John McEnroe) and the Barcelona Olympic Games (with Boris Becker), and was a singles runner-up at the US Open and the French Open, said: “I have heard a lot about Liverpool over the years and all the fine work they have done up there to develop tennis in a region that is mostly famous for football. I am very much looking forward to playing the event.”

Broady, of Stockport, rose to prominence after becoming the European Junior Masters champion in Italy last autumn – one of the first titles Rafael Nadal won and the first Briton to win it.

Liam, 15, said: “I’m excited to be part of this event.

“Obviously it’s very special for me considering I’m from the area.

“It’s a real opportunity for me this year as I will be testing myself against some of the top ATP players in the world.

“I’m really looking forward to playing this great event against these great players and there is no better preparation than this before the junior championships at Wimbledon.”

Councillor Warren Bradley, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “The Liverpool International is firmly established as one of the great events in our sporting calendar.

“Every year the fans are treated to world class tennis and the fact that the game’s biggest names all make a pilgrimage to it speaks volumes for the tournament and the way it is regarded within the sport.”

Log on to www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk later today for reports, pictures and video from the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament