TennisGrandstand

CHARLOTTE, N.C. September 26 - Jim Courier and Wayne Ferreira each registered victories Friday at the $150,000 Citadel Group Championships at The Palisades to post 2-0 round-robin records, leaving both players one match victory from advancing into the event’s championship match. In the first match played in the afternoon, Ferreira defeated Karel Novacek of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1, while Courier, in the final match of the day, defeated fellow American Aaron Krickstein 6-2, 6-3. The continuous rains in Charlotte led to the cancellation of the Friday afternoon and evening sessions at The Palisades. In order to keep the tournament on track for a Sunday finish, all of Friday’s matches were played indoors. The other two matches played Friday where both decided in Champions Tie-Breakers – 10-point tie-breakers played in lieu of a third set. Thomas Enqvist of Sweden defeated Todd Martin 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 (Champions Tie-Breaker), while Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia defeated Jimmy
Arias 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 (Champions Tie-Breaker). The Citadel Group Championships at The Palisades is the fifth of eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.

Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion, played near flawless tennis against Krickstein, committing very few unforced errors and dominating play with his forehand and a high percentage of first serves.

“I felt good serving,” said Courier, who won the inaugural title in Charlotte in 2006. “I don’t think I missed many serves, and when my serve is “on”, then I’m good to go. I think I had about 16 aces.”

“I didn’t play as well as I should have against Jim,” said Krickstein. “Jim is really tough to beat. I had a couple of opportunities being up an Ad, but I ended up losing them, and that hurt me – especially being down 4-1. Jim just served better than me today, I was out-served. Jim took the ball early and hit with a lot of power today.”

Courier, the No. 1 ranked player on the ATP Tour for the 1992 season, is currently the No. 1 player in the Stanford Champions Rankings, the official rankings for the Outback Champions Series. His best results on the season came when he won the title in Grand Cayman in April, and was the runner-up in Newport, R.I. in August. If he is able to defeat Ivanisevic on Saturday night and finish with a 3-0 record in round robin group A, he will advance into his eighth career Outback Champions Series final.

Said Courier of playing Ivanisevic, “I need to serve well again because Goran has one of the biggest serves in the tournament. Goran is extremely talented but he plays up and down, hot and cold, so I need to stay level against him.”

Ferreira, the South African whom Courier beat to win the title in Grand Cayman earlier this year, had little trouble with Novacek, taking advantage of the fast indoor conditions.

“I’m very pleased with how I played,” said Ferreira. “I had a good serve, especially my first serve. I had quite a few doubles (double faults) though.”

Said Novacek, “Wayne was much more aggressive and more precise with his shots than I was.”

Enqvist, playing in his first Outback Champions Series event, avenged his loss to Martin in the match-clinching rubber of the USA vs. Sweden Davis Cup semifinal in Las Vegas and may have prevented Martin from advancing to the Charlotte final for a third year in a row. Martin lost the 2006 Charlotte final to Courier, while last year, he fell in the championship match to Pete Sampras. Martin, who beat Novacek in his opening round-robin match, will have to beat Ferreira Saturday in order to advance into the championship match at The Palisades for a third straight year.

“I know I have to win tomorrow to make it to the finals,” said Martin. “I played well (against Enqvist), but I hit some tough patches, and tried to work through them, but just couldn’t.”

Said Enqvist, “We played a very close match, and I served very well. I was very pleased with my serve. At one point, I think I had four aces in a row. I was lucky to get through this one. It feels good have a win.”

The Outback Champions Series features eight events on its 2008 schedule, with each event featuring an eight-man round-robin match format. The winner of each four-player division meets in the title match while second place finishers in each division play in the third-place match. Each event features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated winner taking home $54,000 as well as Champions Series ranking points that will determine the year-end Stanford Champions Rankings No. 1. Beginning in 2008, the year-end champion will receive a $100,000 bonus courtesy of Stanford Financial Group, the official rankings sponsor of the Outback Champions Series. Through the first four events in 2008, Courier holds the No. 1 ranking with 2200 points. John McEnroe holds the No. 2 ranking with 1800 points while Ferreira is in third position with 1050 points.

The 2008 Outback Champions Series kicked off March 12-16 in Naples, Fla., at The Oliver Group Champions Cup where Martin defeated McEnroe in the final. Courier won the second event of the season at The Residences at The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championships April 16-20, defeating Ferreira in the final, while McEnroe won his first career Outback Champions Series even in Boston April 30- May 4, defeating Krickstein in the final. Pat Cash won his first Outback Champions Series title in Newport, R.I., in August, defeating Courier in the final. After Charlotte, the next three events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series calendar are stops in Dallas, Texas, Surprise, Ariz., and Dubai, U.A.E. More information can be obtained by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.

Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Pete Sampras, John 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. . Each event also has the right to choose a “wild card” entrant.

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 one-night “Legendary Night” exhibitions as well as charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com

The remaining schedule for The Citadel Group Championships at The Palisades is as follows;

Saturday, September 27
Beginning at 1:30 pm
Thomas Enqvist vs. Karel Novacek
Followed by
Anna Kournikova and Tim Wilkison vs. Chanda Rubin and Jimmy Arias
Followed by
Todd Martin vs. Wayne Ferreira
Beginning at 6:30 pm
Jimmy Arias vs. Aaron Krickstein
Followed by
Anna Kournikova and Karel Novacek vs. Chanda Rubin and Tim Wilkison
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. Goran Ivanisevic

Sunday, September 28
Beginning at 2:30 pm
Third-Place Match
Followed by
Championship Match

Round-Robin Results from Wednesday, September 24
Todd Martin, United States, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2
Aaron Krickstein, United States, def. Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 10-7 (Champions Tie-Break)

Round-Robin Results from Thursday, September 25
Jim Courier, United States, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 6-2, 6-1
Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, def. Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, 6-4, 6-3

Round-Robin Results from Friday, September 26
Jim Courier, United States, def. Aaron Krickstein, United States, 6-2, 6-3
Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, def. Todd Martin, United States, 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 (Champions Tie-Breaker)
Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 (Champions Tie-Breaker)
Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-1

Round-Robin Group Standings
Group A
Wayne Ferreira 2-0
Thomas Enqvist 1-1
Todd Martin 1-1
Karel Novacek 0-2

Group B
Jim Courier 2-0
Aaron Krickstein 1-1
Goran Ivanisevic 1-1
Jimmy Arias 0-2