NEW YORK, N.Y., October 6, 2009 – Andre Agassi will make his highly anticipated Outback Champions Series debut when he takes on Mikael Pernfors of Sweden Friday night in the opening round of the 2009 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships at Surprise, Ariz.
The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships at Surprise runs Thursday through Sunday and will feature a field of eight champion players competing in a single knock-out format event for $150,000 in prize money and ranking points that determine the year-end No. 1 ranked player on the Outback Champions Series.
“It’s great to have an opportunity to get back on the court,” said the 39-year-old Agassi of playing on the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over. “That’s the best part of tennis — to be out there and hopefully make a difference in the lives of fans for a couple of hours.”
Agassi is one of only six men in the history of tennis to win all four major singles titles in a career, joining Rod Laver, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Fred Perry and Roger Federer. He won his first major title at Wimbledon in 1992, defeating Goran Ivanisevic in a dramatic five-set final. He won his first U.S. Open title in 1994, defeating Michael Stich in the final, and his second five years later in 1999, defeating Todd Martin in the championship match. He won four Australian Open titles between 1995 and 2003, while his victory at the 1999 French Open rounded out his career Grand Slam. Agassi ranked No. 1 in the world for 101 weeks during his career. He helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 1990, 1992 and 1995 and won 60 career singles titles from 1987 until he concluded his career at the 2006 U.S. Open. In 1994, Agassi started the Andre Agassi Foundation which is dedicated to transforming public education for underserved youth. He will be the eighth former world No. 1
to compete on the Outback Champions Series, joining Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Pat Rafter, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, Thomas Muster and John McEnroe.
Born, raised and still a resident of Las Vegas, Nev., Agassi has had great success playing in the Phoenix, Ariz., area, winning four of his 60 titles in nearby Scottsdale in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2002.
“Every time I’ve been to Arizona, I’ve loved it,” said Agassi. “I grew up in the desert. As a result, I’ve always felt very comfortable there. Some of my best memories are games played right in Scottsdale.”
Agassi and Pernfors will play their quarterfinal match the evening of October 9. Mark Philippoussis and Wayne Ferreira will open up tournament play on Thursday evening, October 8 at 7 pm with the winner playing the Agassi/Pernfors winner in the semifinals. Rounding out the field in Surprise are Americans Jim Courier, Todd Martin, Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Arias. The order of play and tournament schedule is as follows;
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Session #1 – 7:00pm
Quarterfinal #1 – Mark Philippoussis vs. Wayne Ferreira
Followed by Quarterfinal #2 – Jim Courier vs. Aaron Krickstein
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Session #2 – 7:00pm
Quarterfinal #3 – Todd Martin vs. Jimmy Arias
Followed by Quarterfinal #4 – Andre Agassi vs. Mikael Pernfors
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Session #3 – 12:00pm
Men’s Doubles
Followed by
Semifinal #1 – Winner of Agassi/Pernfors vs. Winner of Philippoussis/Ferreira
Session #4 – 5:00pm
Men’s Doubles
Followed by
Semifinal #2 – Winner of Martin/Arias vs. Winner of Courier/Krickstein
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
Session #5 – 12pm
Third Place Match
Followed by
Championship Match
John McEnroe won the inaugural event in 2008 in Surprise defeating Martin in the final. Ticket, travel and tournament information can be found by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
Sampras won the opening event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series, defeating McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February. McEnroe won the second event of the year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, defeating Courier in the final. Sampras won his second title of the year at the Del Mar Development Champions Cup in Los Cabos, Mexico, defeating Rafter in the final. Courier won his first title of the 2009 season in April at the Cayman Islands, defeating Arias in the final. Pat Cash successfully defended his title on the grass courts at the Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Newport, R.I. in August, defeating Courier in the final. Courier won his second title of the season in Charlotte, defeating Sampras in the final.
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe, Courier and others. To be eligible to compete on the Outback 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. The Outback Champions Series features seven events on its 2009 schedule with each event featuring $150,000 in prize money as well as Champions Series points that will determine the year-end Champions Rankings No. 1.
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 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, charity events, corporate outings and tennis fantasy camps such as the annual “Ultimate Fantasy Camp”. Through 2008, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment events have raised over $4 million for charity. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.