Courier Beats Martin for 2nd Straight Champions Series Victory

Written by: Staff on 22nd October 2011

'COMUNIDAD DE MADRID' OPEN SENIORS TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Courier Beats Martin for 2nd Straight Champions Series Victory

epa01299560 US tennis player Jim Courier returns the ball to German Boris Becker during the 'Comunidad de Madrid' Open Seniors tennis tournament in Madrid, central Spain, 29 March 2008. John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera and Emilio Sánchez Vicario will play in this tennis tournament until 30 March 2008. EPA/ZIPI |

Jim Courier defeated Todd Martin 8-7 (5) in the finals of the Champions Challenge at the Chaifetz Arena Friday night, to earn his second straight victory on the 2011 Champions Series. The victory moved Courier into sole possession of second place in the 2011 Champions Series points standings with just one event remaining.

Courier, who defeated Andre Agassi Thursday night in Chicago’s final, continued his run with a hard fought victory over Martin in a match featuring huge hitting and no breaks of serve. In the tiebreaker, Courier trailed by an early mini-break but recovered to win the tiebreak and the title by 7 points to 5.

“I got lucky in the end there, because both of us served very well the entire match,” said Courier. “I’m excited to have the momentum of winning back-to-back events now and I’ll be gunning for a third win in a row tomorrow night at the HSBC Tennis Cup in Buffalo.”

Seperated in the 2011 Champions Series points standings by just 200 points coming into the night, Courier and Michael Chang met in the first semifinal. But it was Courier that earned the critical 6-4 victory to advance into the night’s championship match. Martin advanced to the finals with a 6-4 semifinal triumph over crowd favorite John McEnroe.

Pete Sampras holds a commanding lead in the 2011 Champions Series points standings while Courier now sits in second and Andre Agassi holds onto the third position. Only the top 3 finishers at the end of the 2011 Champions Series will share the one million dollar bonus pool.

The Champions Series concludes with the HSBC Tennis Cup Saturday night in Buffalo, NY – the final event of the 2011 tour. Tickets and unique interactive VIP fan experiences for the 2011 Champions Series are on sale to the general public and start at $35. Tickets are available at venue box offices, all Ticketmaster locations, 202-397-SEAT or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

TONIGHT’S SCORES

Semifinal 1: Courier def. Chang, 6-4

Semifinal 2: Martin def. McEnroe, 6-4

Final: Courier def. Martin , 8-7 (5)

Champions Series Standings                       Points (thru 11 of 12 events)

1 Sampras                                                          2200

2 Courier                                                             1600

3 Agassi                                                               1500

4 Chang                                                               1100

5 Martin                                                              700

6 McEnroe                                                         500

7 Connors                                                           200
8 Lendl                                                                 100

Wilander                                                          100

Topics: Jim Courier, Todd Martin