The Outback Champions Series brought tournament tennis back to Dallas with the inaugural Stanford Championships. Held from October 18-21, 2007 at the DrPepper StarCenter in Frisco, TX, the Stanford Championships delighted Texas tennis fans with some of the most exciting matches on the Outback Champions Series this year.

The field was deep and international with Americans John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Todd Martin, Australians Mark Philippoussis and Pat Cash, Czech Republic’s Petr Korda, South African Wayne Ferreira and Sweden’s Mikael Pernfors

Kicking off the action on Thursday afternoon with his return to competitive tennis after knee surgery earlier this year, Philippoussis struggled early against Korda, but was able to come from behind and dominate in the tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-4, 10-2(TB). Closing out the opening afternoon, Todd Martin battled for a tough win against Ferreira, 7-5, 6-4.

In the Thursday evening match-ups, Courier was able to hold on for the win in a hard fought second set over Cash, 6-3, 7-6(3), while McEnroe found his rhythm just in time after a bruising first set encounter to close out Pernfors in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-0.

Friday afternoon’s play began with Korda taking out Martin in a tightly contested, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6(TB) victory. Immediately following, Courier climbed atop the Group A standings after an exciting tiebreak win over Mikael Pernfors, 6-3, 3-6, 10-5(TB).

Leading off the Friday evening matches, Ferreira came out with precision and power to defeat Philippoussis 7-6(4), 6-4. In the nightcap, a very emotional match was played between two warriors as Cash capitalized on consistent serving and the crowd’s enthusiasm to earn a hard-fought victory against McEnroe, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8(TB).

Opening Saturday’s action, Pernfors played spoiler to Cash, 3-6, 6-3, 10-2(TB), while Philippoussis rallied to beat Martin, 1-6, 6-4, 10-7(TB), earning Philippoussis a spot in Sunday’s competition in his first Outback Champions Series tournament and preventing Martin from reaching Sunday’s match play for the first time in 2007 OCS play.

In the Saturday evening starter, Ferreira earned a convincing win over Korda, 7-6, 6-1, leading up to the much-anticipated match-up between Hall of Famer’s McEnroe and Courier. The Americans didn’t disappoint, with Courier clawing from behind after a brilliant first set from McEnroe and eventually winning the battle of wills with a backhand volley winner on match point, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5(TB).

The 3rd Place match in Dallas would be a battle of the ages and styles, as Philippoussis, the youngest player at the Stanford Championships, would bring his power out against the older, craftier John McEnroe. McEnroe proved that age was no obstacle as he beat Philippoussis in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to secure 3rd place.

Sunday’s final lined up Courier versus Ferreira. Their last meeting had been for 3rd place match at the previous tournament, The Championships at The Palisades, in Charlotte where Ferreira had snatched the champions tiebreaker from Courier in a long, physical encounter. Things wouldn’t be much different in this final.

After splitting the first two sets, Ferreira took a 9-5 lead in the champions tiebreak only to see four match points and the lead evaporate with a combination of his own errors and Courier winners. But ultimately the South African had the answer as he watched a Courier forehand go astray at 9 all to set up his fifth match point which he consolidated with a strong service winner to earn his second title of the year, 2-6, 6-3, 11-9(TB), alongside his Oliver Group Champions Cup title in Naples this March.

Thanks to our sponsors in Dallas including Stanford Financial Group, DFW Acura dealerships, the Fairmont Hotel, ASG Software Systems, Coca Cola, Talon Air and Outback Steakhouse, our charity partner St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and lastly a special thanks to the fans for support of the inaugural Stanford Championships and the Outback Champions Series. Be sure to check back at www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com for 2008 event information, updates, ticket and hospitality packages and player perspectives.

See you in 2008.