September 30, 2007
Sampras Beats Martin For Charlotte Title
CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Pete Sampras defeated Todd Martin 6-3, 6-4 Sunday to win the Championships at The Palisades and claim his third tournament title for the year on the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events around the world featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. Sampras, in fact, is undefeated in 12 matches on the circuit since he ended his five-year hiatus from competitive tournament tennis in Boston last May in his debut event on the Outback Champions Series.
In addition to the $50,000 first prize paycheck for defeating Martin and going 3-0 in round-robin play, Sampras earned 800 Stanford Champions Ranking points that determines the year-end champion on the Outback Champions Series. Martin earned $32,000 and 600 Stanford Champions Ranking points for his runner-up showing. After five events on the 2007 Outback Champions Series, Martin remains in the No. 1 position with 2600 total points, followed by Sampras with 2400 points.
"I'd rather not play enough than play too much," said Sampras of his return to tennis after an ATP career that included a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles. "These events are competitive, fun and it's real tennis. There is prize money on the line and pridecIt's nice to win. I've won the big things and it's still nice to go out and perform well."
Sampras, 36, defeated Martin in the finals of his two previous Outback Champions Series events in Boston and Athens, Greece, but his win over Martin in Charlotte was his only win over Martin of the three in straight sets. Despite the relatively routine match score, Sampras said he found Martin difficult to play on the slippery but fast clay court.
"Todd, on this court, was very tough to play," said Sampras. "Todd's got a game I still don't feel totally comfortable with. His serve bounces so high."
Said Martin, "The court was very fast and there was a thin layer (of clay), which definitely speeds things up. I actually think I match up better with Pete on a fast court."
In addition to his runner-up finishes to Sampras in Boston and Athens, the 37-year-old Martin won the title at the Gibson Guitar Champions Cup in Newport, R.I., in August to move ahead of Sampras in the Stanford Champions Rankings. Martin was a runner-up in Charlotte for a second straight year after losing to Jim Courier in the 2006 final in a Champions Tie-Break. Martin, however, avenged his loss to Courier in Saturday night's final round-robin match, defeating the defending champion 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-5 (Champions Tie-Break).
Courier, the co-founder of the Outback Champions Series, finished play Sunday, losing to Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 3-6, 7-6 (2), 10-5 (Champions Tie-Break) in the third-place play-off.
"Today was a high level of tennis," said Courier. "Wayne served really well and I didn't serve too well today. Overall, this tournament was a big success in Charlotte. We had terrific crowds. Everyone enjoyed themselves."
Said Ferreira, "It's been great here all week. I was here last year and really had a good time and I enjoyed myself here again this year."
The final two events on the 2007 Outback Champions Series will be held in Dallas, Texas at The Stanford Championships Oct. 18-21 and in Dubai, U.A.E. at The Legends Rock Dubai, November 20-24.
The Championships at The Palisades is the fifth of seven events on the 2007 Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events around the world featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. Each event features an eight-man round robin format with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the title match and the second-place finishers from each division playing in the third-place match. An undefeated winner of the event will take home $50,000 as well as Stanford Champions Ranking points that will determine the year-end champion.
To be eligible to compete in the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least a Grand Slam singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. Each event also has the right to choose a "wild card" entrant. Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features seven events where champion tennis players continue to exercise their competitive instincts in tournament formats that feature prize money and Champions Series ranking points that determine a year-end No. 1 player.
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 2006, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events held nationally and internationally featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including one-night "Legendary Night" exhibitions as well as charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutlive.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
October 1, 2007
Once Again, Sampras Serves Up A Winner
By Rick Bonnell
The surface was fast for clay, but it wasn't fast enough for Todd Martin.
Thanks to the dry conditions around Charlotte, the clay surface for the Championships at The Palisades was almost as fast as a hard court. Almost. Martin needed it that much faster Sunday to hold his serve as easily as Pete Sampras did in his 6-3, 6-4 victory in the final.
Sampras' serve is so exceptional, he could probably hit aces on a court of Marshmallow Fluff. Martin is a big server, too, but not quite in Sampras' class.
"I didn't serve particularly well all day," said Martin, who managed to break in the second set, only to be broken in the next game on four straight points to essentially clinch the match for Sampras.
"I'm better on a faster surface" when facing Sampras, Martin said. "Then I don't have to work quite so hard on my service games. He can serve his way out on every court."
Sampras, a former world No. 1, went undefeated in this tournament (3-0 in the round-robin, plus the final) and has yet to lose in the Outback Champions Series, an over-30 men's tennis tour. Martin came closest to beating him, with match points on an indoor surface in Boston.
His peers say Sampras is playing pressure-free, hitting out as never before off his backhand, in part thanks to a bigger racket and high-tech strings. He enjoys playing these events, but isn't sure he wants a steady diet of over-30 tennis.
"I want to do something every two or three months," said Sampras, who will play a series of exhibitions against world No. 1 Roger Federer this fall in Asia. "I'd rather not play enough than play too much."
Still, he likes the format --- serious, but social, with a bunch of old friends.
"It's competitive, but fun. And it's real tennis," Sampras said. "You know prize money is involved. It's not just an exhibition."
So does that mean he'll be back in Charlotte next year?
"We'll see," Sampras said.
In the third-place match, Wayne Ferreira beat Jim Courier in a match tiebreaker (10-4) after the two split sets. Courier won the first set 6-3, and Ferreira took the second 7-6 (2).