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Blake Ends Roddick Streak En Route To PowerShares Series Title In Boston

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James Blake won his first PowerShares Series title of 2015 Wednesday night defeating John McEnroe 7-5 in the one-set final of the Champions Cup at the Agganis Arena at Boston University. Blake defeated Andy Roddick 6-3 in the semifinals of the four-player event, ending Roddick’s 12-match, six-tournament undefeated streak this season on the North American tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30.

Blake is somewhat of a local to Boston having played for two years at Harvard University in 1998 and 1999 before turning professional after a runner-up showing at the 1999 NCAA Championships. Blake grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and played many local tournaments in the USTA’s New England Section as a junior player.

Blake, 35, retired from full-time play on the ATP Tour at the 2013 U.S. Open and just six months later was competing on the PowerShares Series. Blake won two of five events he competed in during his debut year last season on the PowerShares Series, beating McEnroe in the final for both of his titles in Salt Lake City and Sacramento. He finished No. 2 in the PowerShares Series points standings behind McEnroe, who won four titles in 2014.

With the loss to Blake in the semifinals, Roddick’s record for the year on the PowerShares Series drops to 12-1. He won the first six events he played, winning in Los Angeles on March 25, Lincoln, Neb., on April 2, Chicago on April 2, Austin, Texas on April 16, Little Rock, Ark., on April 17 and Dallas on April 18. His win in Dallas gave Roddick his sixth title of the year, breaking the single-season PowerShares Series record set by Pete Sampras, who won five titles in 2011.

In the other semifinal Wednesday night, McEnroe defeated Todd Martin 6-3. Martin was a late substitute for Jim Courier, who was forced to withdraw from the event in Boston and in Richmond Thursday night due to a back injury.

McEnroe, 56, was playing in the final for the fourth time on the 2015 PowerShares Series, all his previous final-round losses coming to Roddick in Chicago, Little Rock and Dallas. Wednesday’s final marked the 29th time that McEnroe had reached a PowerShares Series final since the circuit began in 2005.

Roddick remains in the lead in the PowerShares Series points rankings – taking a player’s best four tournament results during the season – with 1600 points, followed by McEnroe, Blake and Mark Philippoussis in a tie for second-place with 800 points each. Courier is in fifth place with 500 points, followed by Andre Agassi with 200 points and Martin with 100 points.

The PowerShares Series, the 12-city tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30, continues Thursday, April 23 in Richmond, Virginia at the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. Blake will attempt to win for a second-straight night against his three Boston competitors McEnroe, Roddick and Martin.

For full schedule, player and ticket information, go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com

The remaining PowerShares Series schedule with full fields are as follows:

 

Thursday, April 23: Richmond, Va., (Siegel Center at VCU) “Champions Challenge”

Todd Martin vs. Andy Roddick, John McEnroe vs. James Blake

 

Wednesday, April 29: Minneapolis, Minn. (Target Center) “Champions Shootout”

John McEnroe vs. James Blake, Andy Roddick vs. Michael Chang

 

Thursday, April 30: Cincinnati, Ohio (Cintas Center at Xavier) “Champions Showdown”

Andy Roddick vs. James Blake, John McEnroe vs. Michael Chang

 

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.

ABOUT HORIZON MEDIA

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

ABOUT INVESCO POWERSHARES

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC is Leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® 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 QQQ™, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the NASDAQ-100 Index®, 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.

 

James Blake
James Blake

Sampras Advances To Charlotte Final

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 26, 2009 – Pete Sampras overcame two rain delays and soggy and moist conditions Saturday to defeat Pat Cash 6-4, 6-3 to advance into the singles final of the $150,000 Breezeplay Championships at The Palisades at The Palisades Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. Sampras will play the winner of the other semifinal between Jim Courier and Todd Martin, which was postponed until Sunday morning due to rain. Sampras will be seeking his third singles title this year on the Outback Champions Series after winning titles in Boston and Los Cabos, Mexico.

Sampras and Cash were scheduled to play their semifinal match at noon on Saturday, but did not begin the match until four-and-a-half hours later due to rain in the Charlotte area. Sampras won the first set 6-4 and led 1-0 in the second set before rain again delayed play for another three hours. Sampras came out swinging after returning to the court, eager to finish off the victory. He broke Cash’s serve in the eighth game of the second set before serving out the match in the next game.

Pete Sampras reaches Charlotte finals
Pete Sampras reaches Charlotte finals

“We were eager to finish this match,” said Sampras, the owner of 14 major singles titles who also won the Outback Champions Series title in Charlotte in 2007. “We especially wanted to finish it for the fans who have been here all day. These were tricky conditions from the beginning. Even when we started playing again, it kept getting really wet out there and it could have been dangerous.”

Said Cash, “It was a good bit wet out there. The rain has been driving us all insane. The fans have been great and everyone’s been great to get the courts dry and get us out there to play.”

Sunday’s schedule of play is now as follows;

Sunday, Sept. 27
Starting at 10 am
Jim Courier vs. Todd Martin – Second Semifinal
Starting at 2 pm
Pat Cash vs. Jim Courier/Todd Martin loser – Third Place Match
Followed by
Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier/Todd Martin winner – Championship Match

The Courier-Martin semifinal will mark the fourth straight year the two
former U.S. Davis Cup teammates have squared off at The Palisades. In 2006, in the first-year of the event in Charlotte, Courier defeated Martin 5-7, 7-6 (6), 10-4 (Champions Tie-Breaker) in the singles final, while in 2008 Courier again got the better of Martin in the championship match, winning 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 (Champions Tie-Breaker). In 2007, Martin defeated Courier 6-4, 6-7 (4), 10-5 in round-robin play prior to the tournament switching to a single knock-out format.

Martin will be looking to reach the Charlotte final for a fourth straight year. In addition to his losses to Courier in the 2006 and 2008 finals, he lost to Sampras in the Palisades final in 2007.

Sampras won the opening event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series,
defeating John 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 Patrick Rafter in the final. Courier won his first title of the 2009 season in April at the Cayman Islands, defeating Arias in the final. 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. Following Charlotte, the next event on the Outback Champions Series will be held in Surprise, Ariz., where Andre Agassi will make his debut Oct. 8-11.

Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Andre 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.