Wilander And Mexican Standouts Lavalle And Herrera Join Sampras, Rafter And Courier At Del Mar Development Champions Cup
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment | February 26, 2009
Wilander And Mexican Standouts Lavalle And Herrera Join Sampras, Rafter And Courier At Del Mar Development Champions Cup
First Outback Champions Series event in Mexico commences with Mexico Day activities on March 18 in Los Cabos
NEW YORK, February 26, 2009 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment today announced that seven-time major champion Mats Wilander and Mexican standouts Leonardo Lavalle and Luis Herrera will join seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras, two-time U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter and two-time French and Australian Open champion Jim Courier in the six-player field at the Del Mar Development Champions Cup to be held March 18-22 at the Palmilla Tennis Club in Los Cabos, Mexico. The Del Mar Development Champions Cup is a first-year event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.
Wilander, 44, won seven major singles titles in his career, including three French and three Australian Open titles. In 1988, he won three major singles titles, capped by defeating Ivan Lendl in the final of the U.S. Open that earned him the No. 1 world ranking. Lavalle, 41, was a standout on the Mexican Davis Cup team who was a singles quarterfinalist at the 1992 Olympic Games. He won one singles title and five doubles titles during his ATP career. Herrera, 38, was also a Mexican Davis Cup standout and is best known for defeating Jimmy Connors in Connors’ last Wimbledon match in 1992 and in beating Courier in Courier’s Davis Cup debut in Mexico City in 1991.
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment also announced the schedule of play for the event, which begins on Wednesday, March 18th with special “Mexico Day” activities starting at 1 pm with an Opening Ceremony, doubles exhibition and free kids’ clinic. The full schedule of play is as follows;
Wednesday March 18th
Starting at 1pm
Free Kids clinic
Doubles exhibition featuring Leo Lavalle, Luis Herrera and Jorge Lozano
Thursday March 19th
Starting at 1 pm
Mats Wilander vs. Leonardo Lavalle
Patrick Rafter vs. Luis Herrera
Friday March 20th
Starting at 1 pm
Leo Lavalle and Jorge Lozano vs. Mats Wilander and Luis Herrera Jim Courier vs. winner of Patrick Rafter vs. Luis Herrera
Saturday March 21st
Starting at 1 pm
1pm: Leo Lavalle and Jorge Lozano vs. Jim Courier and Patrick Rafter Pete Sampras vs. winner of Mats Wilander vs. Leo Lavalle
Sunday March 22nd
Starting at 1 pm
Third-Place Match
Championship Match
The Del Mar Development Champions Cup is the third of eight events on the 2009 Outback Champions Series and will be contested on an outdoor hard court. The tournament will feature a field of six champion players competing in a single knock-out format event, vying for $150,000 in prize money and ranking points that determine the year-end No. 1 ranked player on the Outback Champions Series. Ticket, travel and tournament information can be found by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
The 2009 Outback Champions Series kicked off Feb. 13-15 in Boston, Mass., at the Champions Cup Boston, where Pete Sampras won his fourth career Outback Champions Series title, defeating John McEnroe in the final. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the Rio Champions Cup – the second event of the 2009 series – March 12-15. Following the Del Mar Development Champions Cup, Outback Champions Series events will be staged in Grand Cayman (April 23-26), Newport, R.I. (August 20-23), Charlotte, N.C. (Sept. 24-27), Surprise, Ariz. (Oct. 8-11), and Dubai, U.A.E. (Nov. 19-22).
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including 14-time major tournament champion Pete Sampras, four-time U.S. Open champion John McEnroe, two-time French and Australian Open champion Jim Courier and others. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team.
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment is a New York City-based independent 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 Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including one-night "Legendary Night" exhibitions as well as charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. Through 2008, InsideOut Sports & Entertainment events have raised over $4 million for charity. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.