Toronto

Mark Philippoussis Repeats In Toronto On Invesco Series QQQ

May 17, 2018 by tennisbloggers

TORONTO – Mark Philippoussis defeated John McEnroe 7-5 Thursday in the one-set final at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre to win the RPIA Championships for the second year in a row and win his first Invesco Series QQQ title of the 2018 season.

The win was the 11th career Invesco Series QQQ title for Philippoussis, the 41-year-old former Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up. Last March in Toronto, Philippoussis won the title by defeating McEnroe by the same 7-5 score in the semifinals and Andy Roddick 7-6 (5) in the final. Thursday’s win for Philippoussis was his first Invesco Series title since his win in Toronto last year.

In 2016, Philippoussis lost only two matches while winning five events and winning the season-long points championship for the first time. He won titles in Memphis, Tulsa, Newport, R.I., Winston-Salem and New Haven with his only match losses coming against Roddick in Portland, Ore. and Los Angeles. Last year, Philippoussis finished in fifth place, 1000 points shy of Roddick’s 1800 point total.

After 40-year-old Tommy Haas swept the first two Invesco Series titles of 2018 in Charleston and Hawaii, Philippoussis moved himself into second-place in the Invesco Series rankings with 400 points for the victory, 300 points behind Haas. The 59-year-old McEnroe, who reached the final in Hawaii earlier this month, earned 200 ranking points to hold in third place with 400 ranking points.

En route to the final, Philippoussis beat James Blake 7-6 (5) in the first semifinal while McEnroe beat Jim Courier 6-2.

The Invesco Series QQQ continues on July 22 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. where Lleyton Hewitt will make is Invesco Series QQQ tour debut. The remaining schedule, with player fields, is as follows

2018 Invesco Series QQQ Schedule:

July 22: Newport, R.I. (International Tennis Hall of Fame) – Lleyton Hewitt, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake
August 19: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest University) – Players TBA
August 23, 24: New Haven, CT (Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale) – John McEnroe, Tommy Haas, James Blake and Todd Martin
October 4: St. Louis, MO (Chaifetz Arena) – Players TBA
October 6: Houston, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) – Players TBA
October 19: Denver, CO (1stBank Center) – Players TBA
October 21: Los Angeles, CA (Sherwood Country Club) – Players TBA

2018 Invesco Series QQQ Results

May 17: Toronto, ON (Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre) F: Mark Philippoussis d. John McEnroe 7-5, SF: Mark Philippoussis d. James Blake 7-6 (5); John McEnroe d. Jim Courier 6-2.

April 7: Charleston, SC (Family Circle Tennis Center) F: Tommy Haas def. Andy Roddick 6-1; SF: Tommy Haas def. Michael Chang 6-2; Andy Roddick def. Mark Philippoussis 6-3

May 5, 6: Kohala Coast, HI (Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows) F: Tommy Haas def. John McEnroe 7-5 SF: Tommy Haas def. Mardy Fish 6-3, John McEnroe def.Jim Courier 6-3

Each Invesco Series QQQ event features special VIP experiences, including hit-with-the-pros opportunities and special back-stage access. All ticket, experience and event information can be found at www.InvescoSeries.com

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 $4 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.comor follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

ABOUT HORIZON MEDIA
Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world’s ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year. Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100 year history of the 4As, the marketing industry’s leading trade association. The company’s mission is “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere.” By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $5.3 billion and over 1,200 employees. The company is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visithorizonmedia.com.

ABOUT INVESCO
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.

Toronto’s Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre Will Host McEnroe, Courier, Haas, Blake at RPIA Championship

March 1, 2018 by tennisbloggers

The Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto will host tennis legends John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake on May 17 at the RPIA Championship, one of ten events on the 2018 PowerShares Series champions tennis circuit.

The PowerShares Series is the North American tennis circuit for champions tennis players over the age of 30. The series of one-night tournaments features two one-set semifinal matches and a one-set final-round match.

This marks the second straight year Toronto has hosted the RPIA Championship after Mark Philippoussis defeated Andy Roddick in last year’s final at the Ricoh Coliseum.

The event starts at 7 pm and will kick off with Haas, the former world No. 2 and the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games, taking on Blake, the former world No. 4 and member of the 2007 championship-winning U.S. Davis Cup team. McEnroe, the three-time Wimbledon and four-time U.S. Open champion, will then face Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion, followed by the singles final. For the fourth straight year on the PowerShares Series players will make their own line-calls with the assistance of electronic line-calling.

“Toronto is one of the world’s great sports towns and I’m looking forward to going back there to play,” said McEnroe. “I hope a lot of my Canadian fans can come out and watch.”

For more information and to purchase tickets, VIP packages and hit-with-the pros opportunities go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com

Local sponsors of the event are RPIA, Peerage Capital, Chestnut Park, Echelon Wealth Partners, Spin Master, MatchPoint Productions

The official charity of the event will be the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children’s Tennis Fund (http://philpottchildrenstennis.ca/). An “RPIA Kids Clinic” for Philpott Children’s Tennis will also be held with two competing players on the Mattamy Athletic Centre court from 5-6pm. “As title sponsor, we are pleased to be able to partner with the Philpott Children’s Tennis Fund to offer these children the unique opportunity to take part in a private clinic with some of the world’s top tennis players and encourage their love for the sport,“ said Richard Pilosof, CEO of RPIA.

The 2018 PowerShares Series will kick off on April 7 in Charleston, S.C. with ten events including events alongside ATP and WTA events in Charleston, S.C., Newport, R.I., Winston-Salem, N.C., and New Haven, Conn. The full 2018 PowerShares Series schedule, with player fields, is as follows:

2018 PowerShares Series Schedule:

April 7: Charleston, SC (Family Circle Tennis Center) – Andy Roddick, Michael Chang, Tommy Haas and Mark Philippoussis

May 5, 6: Kohala Coast, HI (Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows) – John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish

May 17: Toronto, ON (Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre) – John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake

July 22: Newport, R.I. (International Tennis Hall of Fame) – Lleyton Hewitt, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake

August 19: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest University) – Players TBA

August 23, 24: New Haven, CT (Yale University) – Players TBA

October 4: St. Louis, MO (Chaifetz Arena) – Players TBA

October 6: Houston, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) – Players TBA

October 21: Los Angeles, CA (Sherwood Country Club) – Players TBA

TBD: Denver, CO – Players TBA

Each PowerShares Series event also features special VIP experiences, including hit-with-the-pros opportunities and special back-stage access. All ticket, experience and event information can be found at www.PowerSharesSeries.com.

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 PowerShares Series 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 PowerShares Series titles in Charleston, S.C., Winston-Salem, N.C. and in Lynchburg, Va.

In 2016, Mark Philippoussis won the PowerShares 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 PowerShares 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 Champions Series 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 $4 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 www.powersharesseries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About PowerShares by Invesco
PowerShares by Invesco is leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® through its family of more than 140 domestic and international PowerShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs). PowerShares is the provider of PowerShares QQQ, one of the earliest and largest ETFs in the industry. QQQ trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market where innovation and technology expertise have created a world-recognized marketplace for the world’s biggest and best technology companies. PowerShares ETFs seek to outperform traditional benchmark indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. PowerShares has US franchise assets exceeding $110 billion as of December 30, 2016. For more information, please visit us at powershares.com or follow us on Twitter @PowerShares.

Star tennis quartet face-off in Toronto

November 17, 2012 by tennisbloggers

Radwanska, Raonic, Roddick & Williams Face-Off in Toronto

TORONTO (November 17, 2012) — Agnieszka Radwanska, Milos Raonic, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams didn’t disappoint the fans who went through the turnstiles on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto to watch the second edition of the Sportchek Face-Off.
The exhibition event began with a fun celebrity doubles match pitting Team Canada – Raonic and Radwanska – against Team USA’s Roddick and Williams. The superstar quartet were joined on court by Canadian TV personality George Stroumboulopoulos, Bachelor Canada’s Brad Smith, CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon, and Adrian Grenier of Entourage fame. The recently retired Roddick joked about finally getting the chance to play alongside his compatriot after many years of campaigning.
“I couldn’t convince Serena (Williams) to play with me when I was actually good, but now that I suck she’s all about it,” Roddick said.

Andy Roddick salutes the crowd in his return to Canada

Next up was a rematch of this year’s Wimbledon women’s final between Radwanska and Williams. The Pole, who referred to Williams as a “grass tennis killer”, was able to impose her crafty game on the Canadian indoor hard court, en route to a 6-4, 6-4 win. This was a rare defeat for Williams, who has lost just one Tour match since falling in the opening round at Roland-Garros this spring. Despite winning Wimbledon, an Olympic gold medal, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championships in Istanbul, the 31-year-old is focused on looking forward instead of back.
“I’m not a big reflector,” said Williams. “I always feel like I want to do more, I want to improve. Once you start reflecting … you can become really satisfied. For me, I’m always trying to do a bit better. I’ll have more time to reflect after my career.”

Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena Williams sign autographs for fans

The evening concluded with the main event, a confrontation between two of the game’s biggest servers in Raonic and Roddick, who was making his first visit north of the border since 2009. The former World No. 1 put his trademark humor and candor on full display in his return to Canada. He gave the crowd fits of laughter in the second set with his imitations of Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and John McEnroe. In addition to his talents as an entertainer, Roddick, who played his last professional match at the U.S. Open, showed that his tennis skills are still very much in tact defeating Raonic 6-4, 4-6, 10-7. The two players met once on the ATP World Tour, in the final at Memphis in 2011 which Roddick won in three tough sets. The American was full of praise for Canada’s highest-ranked singles player of all time.
“I like his (Raonic) game and I equally like the way he goes about his business,” complimented Roddick. “He’s very diligent and he has the hunger to get better and not be satisfied, which will serve him well.”
For Raonic, being able to host tennis royalty in his hometown for an event like the Face-off is an opportunity to grow tennis in Canada.
“There’s a lot of support, a lot of appreciation and interest in Canadian players, especially during Davis Cup,” Raonic said. “I think the kind of support we’re getting there is really amazing. It’s something we want to keep building up.”

Milos Raonic makes his entrance on front of his home crowd

In the first edition of the Face-Off held last November in Toronto, Raonic took on his tennis hero Pete Sampras.

Inaugural Raonic Race for Kids tees up Face-off weekend in Toronto

November 16, 2012 by tennisbloggers

Andy Roddick & Serena Williams joined Milos Raonic at his inaugural Raonic Race for Kids event in Toronto.

By Melissa Boyd

TORONTO (November 16, 2012) — Two days after launching his foundation to support disadvantaged children, Milos Raonic hosted his first fundraising event, the Raonic Race for Kids, at the Toronto Lawn and Tennis Club with the help of a few Toronto celebrities and tennis stars.
A total of ten teams raised money to participate in the inaugural race and each drafted an honorary celebrity captain to join their squad, choosing from the likes of Raonic, junior Wimbledon champion Eugenie Bouchard, Daniel Nestor, former NHL player Brad Marsh, and Canadian Football League legend Damon Allen. “Romano’s Racers” raised the most money through their fundraising efforts and were rewarded by having Raonic as their captain.
Teams competed in eleven three-minute challenges that tested both their physical and intellectual abilities including mini-putt, ping-pong, and making a puzzle. Creative costumes, a theme song, and an original name characterized each team.

Eugenie Bouchard served as honorary captain for “The Thunderballs”

The highlight of the evening came when Andy Roddick and Serena Williams made a surprise appearance to present prizes and a trophy to the highest scoring team. The winning team was “The Aces” captained by Toronto television personality Carson Arthur. The American super duo also joined Raonic for a Q and A session which covered topics like the trio’s big serves, trash-talking, and what Roddick has been up to since retiring from the game at the U.S. Open this year.
The first edition of the Raonic Race for Kids raised just over $160,000 which will be put towards the Milos Raonic Foundation and Tennis Canada’s “Let’s Make Tennis Matter for Kids” campaign. The Raonic foundation will create and support initiatives to reduce economic, physical, and other barriers that may prevent disadvantaged children from becoming healthy, productive members of society.
“Tennis has had a profound impact on my life in so many positive ways,” Raonic said. “Opportunities that were available to me as I grew up are not always as accessible to other children and youth and in many cases this is often due to circumstances that are completely beyond their control.”
Raonic, Roddick, Williams, and Agnieszka Radwanska will take part in the Sport Chek Face-off tonight at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Milos Raonic & his team make their entrance at the race.

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank to welcome 59 of the top 60 players in the world

July 6, 2012 by tennisbloggers

By Melissa Boyd

Tennis Canada has unveiled the official player acceptance lists for the 2012 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal and Toronto. This year, 59 of the Top 60 players in the world will be descending upon Canada, including both current world No. 1s Maria Sharapova and defending Rogers Cup champion Novak Djokovic. The Top 35 men of the ATP World Tour will play at Rexall Centre in Toronto from August 4-12, while 24 of the Top 25 women of the WTA will compete August 4-13 at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal.

Caroline Wozniacki returns to Montreal to defend her 2010 title

“We are thrilled to welcome back all the best male players in the world to Toronto,” said Toronto Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale. “The depth in the men’s game makes for riveting storylines and unparalleled rivalries and we look forward to watching all the action up-close and personal when the players hit the courts in Toronto.”
“We are very pleased to announce that 24 of the Top 25 players in the world will be in Montreal this year,” said Rogers Cup Montreal tournament director Eugène Lapierre. “Our list shows that the Rogers Cup continues to be one of the most important and appreciated tournaments on the tennis calendar, one that the ladies don’t want to miss.”
Other past champions expected at the tournaments include seven-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal, 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, two-time Rogers Cup titlist Andy Murray, and former world No. 1 players Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic. Joining them will be last year’s Rogers Cup finalist and US Open champion Sam Stosur, Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka and home-grown Canadian hero Milos Raonic.
“I think that Rogers Cup in both Montreal and Toronto do a tremendous job in organizing the event and it’s one of the best [Masters] 1000 events that we have in the world of tennis,” said Djokovic. “Every player enjoys playing there. I’m really looking forward to coming there and playing my best tennis.”
For the second year, the two internationally-recognized Rogers Cup events will be staged during the same week making them “virtually combined”. As with last year, all necessary elements will be in place to ensure that spectators, journalists and players are able to interact across venues.
New for 2012, both draws will consist of 48 players with the Top 16 seeds receiving first-round byes. Main draw action in Montreal will begin one day later than usual on Tuesday, August 7 with the women’s final taking place in the evening on Monday, August 13. An evening final is also scheduled in Toronto for the first time ever on Sunday, August 12 with doubles starting at 5 p.m. and singles at 7 p.m.
The draws in each city will be completed with the addition of qualifiers, tournament wildcards and Tour special exemptions. These entrants will be announced at a later date.
With the smaller draw size, qualifying weekend at both tournaments will be extremely competitive with fan favourites such as Tommy Haas, David Nalbandian, Marcos Baghdatis and Shahar Peer all possibilities based on their ranking to be part of the group fighting for a spot into the main draw. Entry to the grounds during qualifying is free for spectators both in Montreal and Toronto.
Tickets for Rogers Cup presented by National Bank start as low as $20. Session seats, group offers, packages and executive suite opportunities are still available. Inventory for championship weekend is limited. For more information and to purchase tickets visit rogerscup.com or call 1-877-2TENNIS (Toronto) or 1-855-TENNIS-0 (Montreal).

Fashion Focus: Cibulkova’s Lacoste outfit has us seeing spots

October 11, 2008 by Erwin Ong

Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova adds to her strong year (two finals — Amelia Island and Toronto) by dispatching world No. 5 and reigning French Open champ Ana Ivanovic 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the second round of the Kremlin Cup. She showed up the Serb (sorry, Ana) by wearing a simple white Lacoste tennis dress trimmed with slate.
And in her loss to Beijing bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva in the following round, she traded her dress for the Interlock Skirt and a Dot-Printed polo.
Buy: Lacoste V-neck Dot Print dress, $145, lacoste.com.