Enqvist and Ferreira Post Opening Wins In Dallas

DALLAS, October 23 – Thomas Enqvist and Wayne Ferreira each posted opening round-robin match victories Thursday at the 2008 Stanford Championships at the Turpin Tennis Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Enqvist, from Sweden, defeated American Jimmy Arias 6-3, 6-2, while Ferreira, the defending champion from South Africa, defeated Justin Gimelstob of the United States 6-2, 7-6 (4). The Stanford Championships are the sixth of eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.
Enqvist, a former world No. 4 and the singles runner-up at the 1999 Australian Open, is competing in his second Outback Champions Series event. The Swede, who is two-and-a-half years removed from his ATP career, posted a 2-1 round-robin record in his debut event in Charlotte last month, but failed to advance into the tournament’s championship match or third-place match. His win over Arias Thursday puts him in good standing in round robin Group B with upcoming matches against Todd Martin and Aaron Krickstein. Against Arias, Enqvist broke serve to open the match and held on to win the opening set 6-3. The Swede over-powered Arias from the baseline in the second set, registering two service breaks to close out the second set 6-2.
“I played steady and I took my chances, so I think it was a good match,” said Enqvist. “It’s always important to get off to a good start.”
Arias, 10 years older and six inches shorter than Enqvist, said his inability to put enough balls away against his younger, stronger opponent was the major difference in the match.
“I’m annoyed at myself in some ways, because I can hit the ball big enough to compete with him, but I have trouble pulling the trigger sometimes,” said the 44-year-old Arias. “I’m just a little edgy, so that I over spin and when I over spin, it doesn’t do enough to hurt him. Like, I’m not going to hit a winner and then eventually he’s going to get a hold of one and hit it 700 miles per hour and then I’m in trouble. Obviously he serves bigger than me and all that sort of stuff to. I just wish there were certain points. Like in the last game, I had love-15, and I had a short forehand and I approached to his backhand with spin. And he got there and ripped a backhand cross-court winner. I should have been able to put that ball away, the forehand, but I was so tense, I couldn’t quite let it fly. And that’s not good enough against him. It might be good enough against some people, but it’s not good enough against him.”
A fan favorite at Outback Champions Series events due to his constant bantering with his opponents and the fans, Arias admitted in his post-match press conference that his behavior is not a reflection of him being loose on the court, but rather a cover for his nerves.
“I’m the opposite of loose – I’m faking like you wouldn’t believe,” said Arias, who ranked No. 5 in the world in 1984. “I’m as tight as a drum. I wish I could relax. I mean, I’m having fun playing. But I want to play well. I hit some cool shots, actually, that I was happy with. A couple of half-volleys that I couldn’t believe I made.”
Ferreira won the Stanford Championships last year when the event was played indoors at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Frisco, defeating Jim Courier 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker) in the final. Against Gimelstob, a last-minute replacement in the tournament for the injured Boris Becker, Ferreira registered back-to-back service breaks in the sixth and eighth games to capture the first set. Neither player surrendered serve in the second set, before Ferreira took the tie-breaker 7-4.
“It’s great here,” said Ferreira of Dallas and the Turpin Tennis Center at SMU. “The facility is fantastic. The kids at this school are a little spoiled to have a facility like this to come out to everyday. It’s fun for us to come out here and play, too. A lot of the guys playing here are really, really good. It’s a blast. I’m already having a lot of fun.”
Despite being a replacement for the popular Becker, who pulled out of the event on Wednesday with a back injury, Gimelstob received plenty of crowd support from the fans, including a group of women who were quite vociferous in their support for the former U.S. Davis Cup team member.
Joked Gimelstob of the group of female supporters, “They’ve got very good taste down here in Dallas.”
Gimelstob, 31, was competing against Ferreira on the exact one-year anniversary date of his final ATP singles match in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2007.
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 many 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.
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.
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, while Courier won his second event of the season in September in Charlotte, defeating Martin in the final. The next three events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series calendar are Dallas, Surprise, Ariz., and Dubai, U.A.E. More information can be obtained by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
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 Stanford Championships is as follows;
Friday, October 24
1:30pm
Wayne Ferreira vs. Karel Novacek
Todd Martin vs. Jimmy Arias
6:30pm
Thomas Enqvist vs. Aaron Krickstein
Jim Courier vs. Justin Gimelstob
Saturday, October 25
1:30pm
Aaron Krickstein vs. Jimmy Arias
Mixed doubles featuring Anna Kournikova
Jim Courier vs. Wayne Ferreira
6:30pm
Thomas Enqvist vs. Todd Martin
Mixed doubles featuring Anna Kournikova
Justin Gimelstob vs. Karel Novacek
Sunday, October 26
1:30 pm
3rd place match
Championship match
Round-Robin Results from Wednesday, October 22
Aaron Krickstein, United States, def. Todd Martin, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-4
Jim Courier, United States, def. Karel Novacek, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-1
Round-Robin Results from Thursday, October 23
Thomas Enqvist, Sweden, def. Jimmy Arias, United States, 6-3, 6-2
Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, def. Justin Gimelstob, United States, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Round-Robin Group Standings
Group A
Jim Courier 1-0
Wayne Ferreira 1-0
Justin Gimelstob 0-1
Karel Novacek 0-1
Group B
Aaron Krickstein 1-0
Thomas Enqvist 1-0
Jimmy Arias 0-1
Todd Martin 0-1