Tommy Haas kicked off the 2019 Invesco Series QQQ circuit Saturday the same way he started his debut season in 2018 on the North American tennis circuit for champion tennis players ….with a title.
Haas, the former world No. 2 and the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, defeated 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick 7-6 (2) in the one-set championship match to win the Oracle Champions Cup in front of buzzing standing-room-only crowd at the Newport Beach Tennis Club in Newport Beach, California. The event was staged as part of the Oracle Challenger Series men’s and women’s event featuring ATP and WTA professionals and designed to provide new opportunities for American tennis players to secure both ranking points and prize money.
Haas made his Invesco Series QQQ debut last year and promptly won the first two events he played in, defeating Roddick 6-1 in the final of Charleston, S.C. in his debut event and winning again at the Kohala Coast in Hawaii, defeating John McEnroe in the final. He finished the 2018 season second behind James Blake in the season-long Invesco Series QQQ points standings.
In the final, Haas and Roddick each held serve four times before Haas broke serve to take a 5-4 lead. The 40-year-old German, however, was unable to serve out the match in the next game, surrendering his service game for 5-5. The two then each held serve again setting up the tiebreaker, where Haas was able to bear down against Roddick’s rocket serves, forehands… and jokes.
“Andy is one of those guys who I have played many times on tour and he is probably one of the greatest competitors the sport has ever seen,” said Haas of Roddick. “It’s always great to see him back out here. Playing against him is a lot of fun. Obviously, he should have been a comedian, but I guess it’s not too late.”
En route to the final earlier in the evening, Haas beat newly-named U.S. Davis Cup captain Mardy Fish 6-3 in the first semifinal while Roddick beat former U.S. Davis Cup teammate James Blake 6-3.
The Oracle Champions Cup is the first event of the 14thseason of Invesco Series QQQ tennis. The second announced event for 2019 will be in Charleston, S.C. on April 6 at 8:30 pm, as part of the WTA Tour’s Volvo Car Open. Roddick will also headline the field and will join two-time French and Australian Open champion Jim Courier, former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt and seven-time major champion Mats Wilander. Tickets are available at www.InvescoSeries.com.
The full 2019 Invesco Series QQQ circuit schedule will be unveiled in February.
In 2018, Blake won his first Invesco Series QQQ year-long points championship by winning titles in Winston-Salem, New Haven and Houston, while also finishing as runner-up in Los Angeles and Orlando.
In 2017, the year-long points championship was decided in the final match of the season when Andy Roddick defeated James Blake in the Los Angeles final at the Sherwood Country Club. Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and world No. 1, won four Invesco Series QQQ titles in all in 2017, winning in Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Lincoln, Neb., and Los Angeles. Blake, the former world No. 4 and former U.S. Davis Cup star, won series titles in Charleston, S.C., Winston-Salem, N.C. and in Lynchburg, Va.
In 2016, Mark Philippoussis won the Series points title with 1600 points and tournament titles in Memphis, Tulsa, Newport, Winston-Salem and New Haven. Roddick finished in second place, also earning 1600 points but losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Philippoussis 5-2, while winning titles in Charleston, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Orlando. Blake finished in third place with 1100 points and tournament titles in Chicago, Portland and Brooklyn.
In 2015, Roddick won the Series points title in his second year of competing on the series with 1,600 points. Roddick won a record eight events Los Angeles, Lincoln, Chicago, Austin, Little Rock, Dallas, Richmond and Minneapolis. Blake finished second in the points rankings with 1,200 points, winning events in Boston and Cincinnati. Philippoussis finished in third with 1,100 points, winning titles in Salt Lake City and Vancouver. The year before in 2014, McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Invesco Series QQQ tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte.
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 Beach Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has raised over $5 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 InvescoSeries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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