The Invesco Series QQQ tennis circuit is returning to Rice University in Houston for a second straight year as Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Mark Philippoussis and James Blake will compete on Thursday, November 14 as part of a new Oracle Challenger Series event.
The one-day Oracle Champions Cup will be played during the Oracle Challenger Series men’s and women’s tournament for up-and-coming professionals to be held November 10-17 at Rice University’s George R. Brown Tennis Center. This event will mark the third different tournament where the Invesco Series QQQ tennis circuit have collaborated with the Oracle Challenger Series in 2019. Earlier this year, the Invesco Series was featured as part of the Oracle Challenger Series in Newport Beach, Calif., while Yale University will host an Invesco Series event on Saturday, September 7 as part of the New Haven Oracle Challenger Series event.
“The Invesco Series has a long and storied history in Houston, including our first ever event back in 2005, so we are thrilled to create more history and memories as part of this Oracle Challenger Series event at Rice University,” said Jon Venison, co-founding partner of the Invesco Series. “We are excited and grateful to once again partner with Oracle for an event like this that will provide a lot of excitement for tennis in Houston this coming November.”
Each Invesco Series QQQ event features two one-set semifinal matches and a one-set championship match with players making their own line calls with the assistance of electronic line-calling. Play on Thursday, November 14 will begin at 7pm with James Blake playing Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first semifinal followed by Andy Roddick against Mark Philippoussis in the second semifinal. The one-set championship match will immediately follow the second semifinal. Tickets and VIP experience packages are available for sale at www.InvescoSeries.com starting on Wednesday, August 21.
Roddick, a resident of Austin, Texas and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, headlines the field in his home state and will be joined by Ferrero, the former world No. 1 and 2003 French Open champion, Philippoussis, a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2003 and at the U.S. Open in 1998, and Blake, the former world No. 4. Last October at Rice University’s Tudor Fieldhouse, Blake won the title defeating John McEnroe 7-6(3) in the final after beating Roddick in the semifinal.
Houston will be one of 10 events on the 2019 Invesco Series, the North American tennis circuit for players over the age 30. Earlier this season, Haas kicked off the 15th season of this Champions Series tennis tour by defeating Roddick 7-6 (2) in the title match at the Oracle Champions Cup in Newport Beach, Calif., in another collaborative effort between the Invesco Series and the Oracle Challenger Series. Blake won the second event of the season at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., in April defeating Jim Courier 6-3 in the final. Lleyton Hewitt won the third title of the season in Charleston, S.C., while Haas won his second title of the season in Maui, Hawaii in May.
The remaining 2019 Invesco Series QQQ schedule, with player fields, is as follows
San Jose, CA – August 3 (San Jose State University): James Blake, Andy Roddick, Mark Philippoussis, Michael Chang
New Haven, CT – September 7 (Yale University): Tommy Haas, James Blake, Andy Roddick, Mark Philippoussis
Toronto, ON – September 26 (Mattamy Athletic Centre): Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, James Blake, Mark Philippoussis
Los Angeles, CA – October 26 (Sherwood Country Club): Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas
Houston, TX – November 14 (Rice University): Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Mark Philippoussis, James Blake
In 2018, Blake won his first Invesco Series QQQ year-long points championship by winning titles in Winston-Salem, New Haven and Houston, while also finishing as runner-up in Los Angeles and Orlando.
In 2017, the year-long points championship was decided in the final match of the season when Andy Roddick defeated James Blake in the Los Angeles final at the Sherwood Country Club. Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and world No. 1, won four Invesco Series QQQ titles in all in 2017, winning in Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Lincoln, Neb., and Los Angeles. Blake, the former world No. 4 and former U.S. Davis Cup star, won series titles in Charleston, S.C., Winston-Salem, N.C. and in Lynchburg, Va.
In 2016, Mark Philippoussis won the Series points title with 1600 points and tournament titles in Memphis, Tulsa, Newport, Winston-Salem and New Haven. Roddick finished in second place, also earning 1600 points but losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Philippoussis 5-2, while winning titles in Charleston, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Orlando. Blake finished in third place with 1100 points and tournament titles in Chicago, Portland and Brooklyn.
In 2015, Roddick won the Series points title in his second year of competing on the series with 1,600 points. Roddick won a record eight events Los Angeles, Lincoln, Chicago, Austin, Little Rock, Dallas, Richmond and Minneapolis. Blake finished second in the points rankings with 1,200 points, winning events in Boston and Cincinnati. Philippoussis finished in third with 1,100 points, winning titles in Salt Lake City and Vancouver. The year before in 2014, McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Invesco Series QQQ tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte.
ABOUT INSIDEOUT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a Los Angeles based 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 Champions Series, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, The World Series of Beach Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has raised over $5 million for charity. In 2014, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment merged with Horizon Media, the largest privately held media services agency in the world. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or InvescoSeries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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Invesco Ltd. is an independent investment management firm dedicated to delivering an investment experience that helps people get more out of life. NYSE: IVZ; Invesco.com, Invesco Distributors, Inc. is the US distributor for Invesco Ltd. and is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Invesco Ltd.”
