23 September 2009
Champs Hit the Lake
By John Marks
STEELE CREEK On Wednesday InsideOut Sports & Entertainment announced three more players for the 2009 Breezeplay Championships at The Palisades field, bringing back tournament veterans Jimmy Arias, Aaron Krickstein and Mikael Pernfors.
The tournament, running Thursday through Sunday at the Tim Wilkison Signature Tennis and Sports Complex within The Palisades, also boasts former top ranked players and major champions Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Todd Martin and Pat Cash in the Outback Champions Series event open to tennis greats 30 years or older with a resume including a top five world ranking, major singles finals appearance or singles play on a championship Davis Cup team. The Breezeplay event is one of seven Outback events in 2009, offering $150,000 in prize money and points toward the season championship.
With seven players instead of the traditional eight this year, each player except the headliner --- Pete Sampras --- will play in a quarterfinal match Thursday or Friday. Winners then square off in semifinal matches Saturday followed by the third-place and championship matches Sunday, a tweak in format from previous years where eight players competed in round robin groups of four, with the top two seeds advancing.
The first three years of the Charlotte event saw only three men reach the finals, with repeat contenders Todd Martin and Jim Courier along with Sampras, who won the event in 2007. All three return for another run at the tournament title in what venue namesake Tim Wilkison believes could be the most competitive tournament to date.
"It was never really in doubt whether (Sampras) was going to win," Wilkison said of the player who retired with more Grand Slam wins than any other man, who competed two years ago in Steele Creek. "At that stage he was almost in semi-comeback mode, he was travelling and playing so much he was not that far off from the guys on the tour at that point."
For the tournament that "hit a sweet spot" by offering the greater Charlotte area one of the few premier sporting events it lacked three years ago, the 2009 tournament comes off an outing last year dampened by rain and a gas shortage that kept some fans home, Wilkison said. With Sampras in particular playing, Wilkison expects a bounce back year.
"Tennis really is a star-driven sport," Wilkison said. "This is an important year."
The most recently named players include Davis Cup champions, major singles finalists and collegiate champions. Arias, who turned pro at age 16, reached No. 5 in the world in 1984 and boasts five professional singles wins. Krickstein, a Davis Cup champion in 1990 for the U.S., boasts a career high No. 6 world ranking and nine singles titles. Pernfors, best known for his run to the title match of the 1986 French Open, won professional titles along with back-to- back collegiate crowns for the University of Georgia in 1984 and 1985.
Also new this year a new charity sponsor, Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte.
"We are thrilled," said group executive director Mona Johnson- Gibson. "We thank them for all their support. We are working hard to spread the word that the house will be an important part of this community, and the support of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment will go a long way to making the house a reality."
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features names like Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and others. The Charlotte winner earns $60,000. Ticket information for the event, including times and location, can be found at championsseriestennis.com.