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They were stars in their day and they're still stars today, especially in the eyes of a group of special needs students from Dubai.
Tennis champions Ilie Nastase, Mansour Bahrami, Peter McNamara and Pat Cash made star appearances at the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships as they took part in various Pro-Ams and kids days as Barclays Ambassadors.
British legend Virginia Wade, fellow British TV presenter and former tennis star Annabel Croft, as well as Tony Henman, father of Tiger Tim, also arrived to participate.
The ambassadors, who now take part in a Legend's Tour which runs throughout the year, played tennis with youngsters from the Dubai Centre for Special Needs and helped them with tips to improve their skills.
The famous faces were brought to Dubai courtesy of Barclays tennis consultant, John Beddington, former Tournament Director and Chairman of the Canadian Open, former International Vice President of Racquet Sports for IMG and member of the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame.
He said: "These great champions are thoroughly enjoying being involved in the Pro-Am sessions. John Feaver, former member of the British Davis Cup team and holder of the record number of aces in one match at Wimbledon for over 30 years, also made a last-minute appearance.
Wimbledon Star
Virginia Wade is enjoying her first trip to Dubai. Particularly remembered for winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the tournament's centenary year on July 1, 1977, Wade was the last person to play in front of Queen Elizabeth II when she attended Wimbledon for the Silver Jubilee.
Australian Pat Cash is best remembered for winning the Wimbledon men's singles title in 1987 and is a regular visitor to Dubai.
He said: "I love coming to Dubai, it's such a great place. I'm probably playing more tennis now than I was when I was on tour. It's great and I love spending time with the kids who love the game so much.
Charismatic
Charismatic Romanian, two-time Grand Slam champion and former tennis world number one, Ilie Nastase is famous for his on-court antics and amusing one-liners.
He said: "We have been very well looked after here in Dubai and are having lots of fun.
Cash added: "We are used to having fun. In our day we would all hang out together on tour and go to rock concerts in the evenings. The game seems to have naturally become more serious over the years, maybe because of the money involved. Players seem to stay within their small entourage rather than socialise together now."They also don't have an awful lot of time to meet spectators, fans and school, children so it's great for us to do that instead."
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