DUBAI, U.A.E., Nov. 19, 2008 – Anders Jarryd of Sweden and defending champion Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands each registered opening-day victories Wednesday at the Emirates NBD The Legends “Rock” Dubai, the eighth and final event on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over. Jarryd continued his run of recent strong play by beating Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 1-6, 6-1, 11-9 (Champions Tie-breaker), while Haarhuis edged two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera of Spain 7-5, 6-4.
Jarryd is fresh off his best career Outback Champions Series showing two weeks ago in Surprise, Ariz., where he defeated Jim Courier en route to a fourth-place finish. The 47-year-old Jarryd, a former world No. 5 and a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1985, suffered through a barrage of Ferreira forehands to lose the opening set 6-1. The Swede, however, changed the pace of the match by taking his South African opponent out of his rhythm with drop shots and slice backhands to even the match by winning the second set as easily as he lost the first. In the Champions Tie-Breaker, a 10-point tie-breaker played in lieu of a third set, Jarryd implemented an attacking style of play to jump out to a 9-6 lead. However, Ferreira charged back to save three consecutive match points, before Jarryd was able to hold on and win the next two points to close out the Champions Tie-breaker by an 11-9 margin.
Haarhuis, who beat Jim Courier to win his first Outback Champions Series event last year in Dubai, used his penetrating ground strokes and strong fitness to edge Bruguera. Haarhuis broke Bruguera at 5-5 before serving out the first set 7-5 and broke again in the sixth game of the second set before closing out the match four games later.
Thursday’s play will be highlighted by the Outback Champions Series debut of Stefan Edberg, who takes on Wayne Ferreira at 5 pm local time in Dubai. Edberg, 42, is one of 15 men in the history of tennis to play in all four major singles finals during his career. He won singles titles at Wimbledon in 1988 and 1990, at the U.S. Open in 1991 and 1992 and at the Australian Open in 1985 and 1987. At the French Open in 1989, Edberg fell one set shy of capturing the singles title, losing to Michael Chang in a five-set final. Edberg won 42 singles titles and 18 doubles titles in his career and held the No. 1 singles ranking for 72 weeks. He guided Sweden to victories in the Davis Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1994 and won the bronze medal in singles and doubles at the 1988 Olympic Games.
Also on Thursday’s schedule will be Haarhuis taking on Courier in a re-match of the 2007 Dubai final.
The Outback Champions Series features eight events on its 2008 schedule with each event featuring a round-robin match format. The winner of each 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 Todd Martin defeated John 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 event in Boston April 30- May 4, defeating Aaron 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 and third titles of the season in September in Charlotte and in October in Dallas, defeating Martin and Thomas Enqvist in the final, respectively. In November, McEnroe won his second title of the 2008 season in Surprise, Ariz., defeating Martin in the final.
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Pete Sampras, 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. More information on the Outback Champions Series 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
Results
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Anders Jarryd, Sweden, def. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, 1-6, 6-1, 11-9 (Champions Tie-Breaker)
Paul Haarhuis, Netherlands, def. Sergi Bruguera, Spain, 7-5, 6-4
Schedule of Play
Thursday, November 20
Starting at 5 pm
Stefan Edberg, Sweden, vs. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa
Paul Haarhuis, Netherlands, vs. Jim Courier, United States
Friday, November 21
Starting at 3 pm
Stefan Edberg, Sweden, vs. Anders Jarryd, Sweden
Jim Courier, United States, vs. Sergi Bruguera, Spain
Saturday
Starting at 3 pm
Third-place match
Followed by
Championship match
ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
Group A
Anders Jarryd 1-0
Stefan Edberg 0-0
Wayne Ferreira 0-1
Group B
Paul Haarhuis 0-1
Jim Courier 0-0
Sergi Bruguera 0-1
