James Blake won his second PowerShares Series title of the 2015 season beating John McEnroe 6-2 in the one-set championship match Thursday at the Cintas Center at Xavier University. With the win, Blake clinched the season-ending No. 2 PowerShares Series ranking behind his former U.S. Davis Cup teammate Andy Roddick.
Blake upset Roddick in the semifinals of the four-man event earlier in the night, handing Roddick only his second loss on the 2015 PowerShares Series – and only his third-ever career loss on the Series – by a 6-3 margin. Blake, in fact, is the only player to beat Roddick in PowerShares Series play, beating him in the semifinals of Boston last week and in the semifinals of Houston in 2014.
The title was Blake’s fourth career title on the PowerShares Series, the North American circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30, winning titles in Salt Lake City and Sacramento in his debut year of 2014.
McEnroe, 56, was playing in the final for a sixth time on the 2015 PowerShares Series, but still has yet to capture a title after claiming four tournament wins – and the year-end No. 1 points ranking – last season. He advanced into the final with a 6-2 win over Michael Chang in the semifinals.
Roddick, with eight tournament titles in the 10 event appearances, has already clinched the No. 1 PowerShares Series ranking for the season with
1600 points – taking a player’s best four tournament results during the season with each tournament winner earning 400 points. Blake, with his title in Boston and Cincinnati and runner-up finishes in Lincoln, Nebraska and Richmond clinched the No. 2 ranking with 1200 points. Mark Philippoussis and John McEnroe are in a tie for third with 800 points followed by Jim Courier with 500 points and Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Todd Martin with 200 points.
The PowerShares Series concludes with its 12th and final event on Saturday night May 2 in Vancouver, Canada at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC. Pete Sampras headlines the field along with McEnroe, Chang and Mark Philippoussis.
For more information on the PowerShares Series, go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com
The remaining PowerShares Series schedule with full fields are as follows:
Saturday, May 2: Vancouver, Canada (Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC) “Champions Showdown” Michael Chang vs. Mark Philippoussis, Pete Sampras vs. John McEnroe
In 2014, John McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Champions Series tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte. McEnroe was followed in the points standings by Blake in second place and Roddick in third place.
ABOUT INSIDEOUT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based 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 Champions Series, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, The World Series of Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has have raised over $4 million for charity. In 2014, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment merged with Horizon Media, the largest privately held media services agency in the world. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.powersharesseries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York, and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Chicago. Horizon Media was named 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek and Ad Age and as one of the world’s ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year and he currently serves as Chairman of the 4A’s, the industry’s oldest and most prestigious trade association. The company’s mission is “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere.” Horizon Media has estimated billings of $4.7 billion and approximately 1,000 employees. For more info, go towww.HorizonMedia.com
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Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is Leading the Intelligent ETF RevolutionR through its family of more than 140 domestic and international exchange-traded funds, providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. With franchise assets over $66.7 billion as of June 29, 2012, PowerShares ETFs trade on both U.S. stock exchanges. For more information, please visit us at invescopowershares.com or follow us on Twitter @PowerShares.
ABOUT POWERSHARES QQQ
PowerShares QQQT, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the NASDAQ-100 IndexR, is one of the largest and most traded ETFs in the world. Under most circumstances, QQQ will consist of all of the stocks in the index which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization.
