February 14, 2009
McEnroe, One Day Shy Of 50th Birthday, To Play Sampras For Boston Title
BOSTON --- John McEnroe, who will turn 50 years old on Monday, will spend his final day as a "forty-something" taking on Pete Sampras in the final of the $150,000 Champions Cup Boston.
McEnroe advanced into the championship match of the opening event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series by defeating Jim Courier 7-5, 6-1 in Saturday's semifinals. Sampras advanced into the championship match with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Todd Martin Saturday evening.
The Champions Cup Boston is the first of eight events on the 2009 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over. Last year, McEnroe won his first career Outback Champions Series title in Boston when he defeated Aaron Krickstein in the championship match. En route to his victory last year in Boston, McEnroe upset Sampras 2-6, 7-5, 10-4 (Champions Tie-Break) in round-robin play when the tournament featured a different format. Sampras, the winner of a men's record 14 major singles titles, won the Champions Cup Boston title in 2007, defeating McEnroe 6-3, 6-4 in round-robin play en route to the title.
"At 50, he still plays great," said Sampras of McEnroe, who won his first major singles title 30 years ago at the 1979 U.S. Open. "He's got that lefty serve that's effective, he's smart and he has experience. It should be entertaining. It's always entertaining playing John."
On Saturday, McEnroe benefitted from Courier injuring his back in the middle of the first set, which severely hampered his movement and ability to generate pace on his shots. McEnroe took full advantage and routinely hit drop shots and made Courier move all over the court. Courier couldn't do much with his bad back and eventually succumbed by losing a quick second set 6-1
"I thought the match was going to be rough," said McEnroe. "He came out quick and he was hitting a big ball. I took it as a sign of respect that he had to step it up. Something happened to his back obviously. Maybe he was trying to push it and wasn't quite ready. I felt like there were moments when I was hitting the ball better and clicking. I was moving better than yesterday."
Said Courier, "I was disappointed my body betrayed me because I was playing very well, practicing very well and training for this tournament and the rest of the first half of our season. It's disappointing to not be able to play at full throttle. I was up a break and serving and I would have hopefully been able to continue along that way. There is no guarantee playing John. He came out of the box in the first game and played very well."
The second semifinal between Sampras and Martin --- a rematch of the 2007 Champions Cup Boston final, won by Sampras 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Break) --- was highlighted by the dominant serving of both players.
"Not a whole lot separated us tonight," said Sampras. "Todd was serving great and holding serve pretty easy. He had two loose games there, a couple of double faults and that was it. I felt pretty good. I felt sharp."
Tickets for Sunday's Champions Cup Boston 2 pm session featuring the third-place match and the championship match are still available by logging onto www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2000.
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Sampras, McEnroe, Courier and others. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. The Outback Champions Series features eight events on its 2009 schedule with each event featuring $150,000 in prize money as well as Champions Series ranking points that will determine the year-end Stanford Champions Rankings No. 1. The year-end champion will receive a $100,000 bonus courtesy of Stanford Financial Group, the official rankings sponsor of the Outback Champions Series.
Champions Cup Boston is sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, Stanford Financial Group, Staples, ASG, Providea, Talon Air, Coca-Cola, Taj Hotel, NESN and Greater Media.
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including "Legendary Night" exhibitions, charity events and tennis fantasy camps such as the annual "Ultimate Fantasy Camp". Through 2008, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment events have raised over $4 million for charity. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
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