NEW YORK, N.Y., January 3, 2008 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and C & H Events, Inc. today announced that Todd Martin will join the field of tennis champions at The Oliver Group Champions Cup, the first event on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, held March 12-16 at The Players Club & Spa at Lely Resort. Martin, a finalist at the 1994 Australian Open and the 1999 US Open, will be making his debut at The Oliver Group Champions Cup, a third-year event on the Outback Champions Series, the international tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and older.
Photo © Courtesy of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment
Martin joins Jim Courier and Wayne Ferreira – the event’s champions from the last two years – in the eight player field. Martin finished 2007 as the No. 1 ranked player in the Stanford Champions Rankings, the rankings that determine the year-end champion on the Outback Champions Series. Martin won the title in Newport, R.I. at the Gibson Guitar Champions Cup and posted runner-up finishes in Boston, Athens (Greece) and Charlotte. During his ATP Tour career, Martin won eight career singles titles and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4. At the Australian Open in 1994, he reached the first major final of his career, upsetting Stefan Edberg in the semifinals before losing to Pete Sampras. At the US Open in 1999, he led Andre Agassi two-sets-to-one before falling in five sets in the final. Martin was also a stalwart on the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1994 to 2002, helping the team to the 1995 title and to the final round in 1997.
“Todd Martin finished first among an incredibly strong group of champions in the Stanford Champions Rankings in ‘07 so there is little doubt he is the man to beat as the Series kicks off in Naples,” said Jon Venison, co-founding partner of the Outback Champions Series. “Todd has played some dramatic matches on the biggest stages in tennis in the world and it will be a treat for fans in Naples to see him battle against his long-time rivals in some high-level competitive and entertaining tournament tennis.”
Tickets for the event are also now on sale and can purchased by calling (877) 332-TIXX (8499) or by visiting Championship Series Tennis . Courier won the inaugural Outback Champions Series event in Naples in 2006, defeating 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash 6-4, 7-6 (8) in the final. Ferreira won last year’s title, defeating former U.S. Davis Cup standout Aaron Krickstein 6-3, 6-3 in the final.
All Champions Series events feature eight-man round-robin match formats with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the title match while second place finishers in each division meet in the third-place match. Each Outback Champions Series event features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated winner taking home $54,000 as well as Stanford Champions Rankings points that will contribute to determine the year-end champion and a $100,000 bonus.
Martin finished 2007 as the No. 1 ranked player in the Stanford Champions Rankings that determine the year-end champion on the Outback Champions Series. Martin was followed at No. 2 by Courier, No. 1 on the 2006 Stanford Champions Rankings, and Sampras at No. 3.
Founded in 2005, the 2007 Outback Champions Series featured seven events where champion tennis players continue to exercise their competitive instincts in tournament formats that feature prize money and Stanford Champions Series ranking points that determine a year-end No. 1 player. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have either; reached a Grand Slam 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
C & H Events, Inc. is a full-service event management and marketing company based in Boca Raton, Fla. Among the tennis events C & H Events manages in addition to The Oliver Group Champions Cup is Swingtime Benefiting the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, Mardy’s Tennis and Jake’s Music Fest to benefit the Mardy Fish Foundation, the Bank of the West Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic and Couples Resorts Tennis Fantasy Camp. Please visit http://www.chevents.com for further details about C & H Events.
