Michael Chang made a successful return to the Champions Series tennis circuit Thursday night defeating Jimmy Arias 6-0, 6-2 in his opening round-robin match at the $150,000 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. John McEnroe was also a winner Thursday night in his opening round-robin match defeating Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Chang, the 1989 French Open champion and a 2008 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, was playing in his first Champions Series event since he suffered an unfortunate injury at the 2006 Champions Series event in Naples, Fla. After leading Mikael Pernfors 6-0, 5-0 in his second round-robin match of the event, Chang lost two games in a row then ruptured his Achilles tendon, forcing him to lose the match 0-6, 2-5, retire, and be sidelined from competitive tennis for an extended period.
Thursday night against Arias, Chang displayed the lethal groundstrokes and tenacity that earned him the world No. 2 ranking and 34 career ATP singles titles. He streaked through the first set without losing a game before surrendering the first game of the second set. After Arias led 2-1 in the second set, Chang then won the last five games of the match.
I felt pretty good today, said Chang. The conditions were perfect and there was not a whole lot to complain about tonight. By the end of the first set, I had my forehand going pretty good.
Chang moved around the court with relative ease, but his 2006 injury has forced him to slightly alter his style of play.
Ive learned from my injuries, said Chang. Im not going to be able to track down every ball that I had in the past. Ive gotta play smart and take advantage of my strengths.
McEnroe displayed some remarkable shot-making in his win over Ferreira, dazzling fans with some spectacular half volleys, serves and volley winners. After taking the first set 6-4, McEnroe became flustered early in the second set receiving two code of conduct violations – as Ferreira raised his level of play and led 3-1. McEnroe broke back in the eighth game of the second set and went on clinch the victory in the second-set tie-breaker.
Friday’s play is highlighted by Mark Philippoussis taking on Arias in the opening day match at 2 pm, followed by Chang against Aaron Krickstein. The night session starting at 7 pm will feature Jim Courier taking on Ferreira and McEnroe taking on Jeff Tarango.
Philippoussis and Courier will look to increase their round-robin records to 2-0 after notching victories during Wednesday night’s opening session. Philippoussis defeated Krickstein 6-3, 6-2 and Courier defeated Jeff Tarango 6-7 (5), 6-3, 10-4 (Champions Tie-Breaker).
Tarango, the former U.S. Olympic team member playing in his debut Champions Series tournament, performed admirably and nearly knocked off the Hall of Famer. But after winning the first set in a tie-breaker, he was not able to continue his momentum on to victory.
After he broke me (in the second set), he just got on a real roll, and the confidence he got from the second set rolled into that super-tiebreaker, said Tarango. His first serve just really started dominating.
Tarango, however, was quick to turn his attention to his Friday night match with McEnroe. Said Tarango, Youre gonna need a steam meter on Friday night to see whos got more steam coming out of their ears, me or Johnny Mac.
Krickstein was playing in his first Champions Series event since last year in Surprise and admitted to being a bit rusty against Philippoussis, despite winning three of the first four games of the match. However, the former top 10 standout and U.S. Davis Cupper, was looking forward to Fridays match with Chang.
I know Michael (Changs) game pretty well, said Krickstein. I actually did pretty well against him. Itll be a different match than this one, with longer rallies, not just walking side-to-side on serves. It should be fun.
The schedule of play for the tournament is as follows:
Friday, October 22
Starting at 2 pm
Mark Philippoussis vs. Jimmy Arias
Followed by
Michael Chang vs. Aaron Krickstein
Starting at 7 pm
Jim Courier vs. Wayne Ferreira
Followed by
John McEnroe vs. Jeff Tarango
Saturday, October 23
Starting at Noon
Jimmy Arias vs. Aaron Krickstein
Followed by
Anna Kournikova/Jeff Tarango vs. Ashley Harkleroad/Wayne Ferreira
Followed by
Michael Chang vs. Mark Philippoussis
Starting at 7 pm
John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier
Followed by
Anna Kournikova/Jimmy Arias vs. Ashley Harkleroad/Aaron Krickstein
Followed by
Wayne Ferreira vs. Jeff Tarango
Sunday, October 24
Starting at Noon
Third Place Match
Followed by
Championship Match
The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships is a third-year event on the Champions Series tennis circuit, the New York-based global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex, 14469 W. Paradise Lane and also online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
To be eligible to compete on the Champions Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. Each event features $150,000 in prize money with the tournament champion earning $60,000 and ranking points that determine the year-end No. 1. Courier finished the 2009 season as the top-ranked player on the Champions Series, followed by Pete Sampras and Todd Martin.
Former U.S. and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis defeated John McEnroe to win the Staples Champions Cup in Boston in May and take over the No. 1 Champions Series ranking. Former French Open semifinalist Fernando Meligeni of Brazil was the surprise winner of the opening event on the 2010 Champions Series, winning the title in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil by defeating Philippoussis in the final.