Staples Champions Cup
April 29 - May 2, 2010
Agganis Arena at Boston University

The Staples Champions Cup was the second event on the 2010 Champions Series circuit, and was played for a fifth straight year in Boston and for the fourth time at Agganis Arena @ Boston University. This year we were thrilled to announce the return of Bjorn Borg who returned to play in his first event in the United States in 10 years. Borg’s appearance at the Staples Champions Cup marked his debut on the Champions Series.

The four day event kicked off on Thursday evening with Borg defeating fellow Swede Mikael Pernfors 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 (TB). Borg’s old school flair was present early against Pernfors as he used penetrating and consistent groundstrokes to control play. In the second set, Pernfors switched his strategy, resorting to trickery and using effective slice backhands and drop shots to keep Borg off balance and on the run. In the Champions Tie-Breaker, a first to 10-point tie-breaker played in lieu of a third set, Borg jumped out to an 8-4 lead with consistent backhand returns and aggressive baseline play and held on for the 10-8 victory. Also advancing in the event on Thursday was Mark Philippoussis, who beat Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-2.

Friday evening's session saw John McEnroe defeat Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-4 to advance into a semifinal confrontation with his legendary rival Bjorn Borg. McEnroe executed his serve-and-volley game to near perfection, losing very few points on serve and controlling play early and often in the first set. The second set was much closer, as Wilander changed his strategy, and attempted to move McEnroe as much as possible. The second match of the session saw Jim Courier defeat Jimmy Arias 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semi finals.

Day three of the event hosted two sessions of tennis and saw some semi final showdowns. First up we saw Mark Philipoussis take on Jim Courier which featured powerful tennis from both players - Philippoussis' serve matched against Courier's ground game, but ultimately the Australian's power proved too much to overcome and he won the match 4-6, 7-6 (5), 10-7 (TB) to advance to the Championship Final. In the evening, playing 30 years since their epic five-set finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, McEnroe and Borg delighted the near capacity crowd as both players displayed their vintage styles of play that made them two of the all-time legends in the sport. McEnroe used his deft touch at the net and his deceptive and powerful serve, while Borg executed on numerous passing shots and grinded out points from the baseline. McEnroe broke Borg’s serve in the seventh game of the first set to take a 4-3 lead and served out the first set three games later. Neither player lost serve in the second set, forcing the tie-breaker that McEnroe won 7-3.

Our final day in Boston saw Mark Philippoussis stave off John McEnroe 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 (TB) to win the $150,000 Staples Champions Cup for his first career title on the Champions Series circuit, earning $60,000 for the title as well as 800 ranking points to become the new Champions Series points leader for 2010. In Sunday’s third-place match, Jim Courier and Bjorn Borg competed against each for the first time ever, Courier winning 6-4, 7-6 (4).

InsideOut sends a big thanks to Staples, Providea, Parthenon, Lever 2000, Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, Talon Air, NESN, Greater Media and Tenacity and most importantly all the fans for another great year in Boston.

The Champions Series circuit will resume September 30 – October 3 at The Breezeplay Championships in Charlotte, N.C.


 

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