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.
“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.