Tennis Legends Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Mardy Fish to Play at USTA National Campus
ORLANDO (June 21, 2018) – The USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. will become the new host of the 10th and final event on the 2018 Invesco Series QQQ tennis circuit on December 6, featuring a celebration of American tennis legends.
The one-night tournament will feature four American champion players – former world No. 1 and two –time French and Australian Open champion Jim Courier, 2003 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 1 Andy Roddick, former U.S. Davis Cup star and former world No. 4 James Blake and former U.S. Davis Cup star and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish.
The event will be played on the hard court stadium at the USTA National Campus and will start at 7 pm. Tickets will be available at InvescoSeries.com starting September 15. The event will feature two one-set semifinal matches followed by a one-set championship match in one session. The Orlando event takes the place of the previously announced Denver event.
“We are excited to partner with the USTA to showcase icons of American tennis at this incredible facility. The USTA has supported Champions Tennis since we started the tour 14 years ago. We appreciate their continued support and look forward to many years of world class tennis in Orlando”, said Jim Courier, co-founding partner of InsideOut Sports and Entertainment.
“The USTA National Campus has allowed Orlando to become the home of American tennis, welcoming athletes and their families to our community year round. We’re thrilled that this incredible facility will host an event on the 2018 Invesco Series QQQ circuit and look forward to celebrating American tennis and some of its legends here in December,” said Buddy Dyer, Orlando Mayor.
“The USTA National Campus is thrilled to serve as the host of the 2018 Invesco Series QQQ culminating event,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, USTA National Campus. “It will be a truly unique experience for the Central Florida community to watch this historic group of American tennis legends play underneath the lights of our world-class facility.”
The Invesco Series QQQ is the North American tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30 and features other tennis legends including John McEnroe, Tommy Haas, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis.
So far in 2018, Haas, playing his first year on the circuit, has won titles in Charleston, S.C. and at Kohala Coast, Hawaii, while Philippoussis has won the only other event played so far in Toronto, Canada.
The remaining 2018 Invesco Series QQQ schedule is as follows:
- 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) – Andy Roddick, James Blake, Michael Chang, and Mark Philippoussis
- 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) – John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Jim Courier, and Mark Philippoussis
- October 6: Houston, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) – John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Jim Courier
- October 21: Los Angeles, CA (Sherwood Country Club) – Andy Roddick, James Blake, Tommy Haas, and Mardy Fish
- December 6: Orlando, FL (USTA National Campus) – Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Mardy Fish
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.
Results so far on the 2018 Invesco Series QQQ are as follows:
- 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
- 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.