22 July 2009
Sampras to play in Charlotte tournament
By Rick Bonnell
Pete Sampras, who won 14 Grand Slam titles, is returning to the Palisades in September to headline the senior tennis tournament there.
Sampras was one of four players announced Wednesday to play in the Breezeplay Championships Sept. 24-27. Sampras played this event in 2007, winning the title. Jim Courier, who won here last year, plus Todd Martin and Mats Wilander have committed to the field. The remaining four players will be announced at a later date.
Pete Sampras will lead the field of champions returning to The Palisades Country Club in Charlotte to compete in the $150,000 Breezeplay Championships at The Palisades, to be held September 24-27.
Joining Sampras to compete on the hard court stadium court at The Palisades will be defending champion Jim Courier, Hall of Famer Mats Wilander and three-time finalist Todd Martin.
Sampras will be competing in Charlotte for a second time after capturing the title in 2007. The seven-time Wimbledon champion and owner of 14 major singles titles won the title in Charlotte two years ago defeating Todd Martin 6-3, 6-4 in the championship match. Earlier this year, Sampras won Outback Champions Series events in Boston and Los Cabos, Mexico. He will be seeking his sixth career Outback Champions Series event in Charlotte after joining the global champions tennis circuit in 2007.
Courier will be seeking his third title in Charlotte after winning titles at The Palisades in 2006, defeating Martin 5-7, 7-6 (6), (10-4 in Champions Tie-Breaker) in the final, and in 2008, defeating Martin again 6-2, 3-6, (10-5 in Champions Tie-Breaker) in the final. Courier, a two-time French and Australian Open champion, currently leads the rankings on the Outback Champions Series with 2000 points, followed by Sampras with 1600 points and John McEnroe with 1300 points.
Wilander will be making his debut in Charlotte in 2009. Like Sampras and Courier, Wilander is a former world No. 1 player and has won three French and Australian Open titles and one U.S. Open singles title.
Martin has played in Charlotte in all three previous editions of the event, reaching the championship match all three times -- losing to Courier in 2006 and 2008 and to Sampras in 2007. Martin was a singles finalist at the Australian Open in 1994 and the US Open in 1999.
The remaining players in the Breezeplay field will be announced at a later date.