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TOMMY HAAS GRABS ANOTHER INVESCO SERIES QQQ TITLE IN HAWAII
MAUI, Hawaii – Tommy Haas defeated Mardy Fish 6-4 Sunday to win the Hawaii Champions Cup at the Royal Lahaina Resort, the fourth of ten events on the 2019 Invesco Series QQQ tennis circuit.
Haas, 41, successfully defended his title that he won last year when he beat John McEnroe in the final on the Kohala Coast. In his second year on this North American tennis tour for champion tennis players over the age of 30, Haas has now captured four career titles.
“I’m very happy with the way I played,” said Haas of winning for a second time in Hawaii. “It’s always tough to play against someone as tough as Mardy whom you could see was very serious once again out there today. We had quite a few battles on the regular tour and now on the Invesco Series. I have fun playing him every single time and I have to always bring my best to beat him.”
The players had to deal with gusty Hawaiian winds Sunday afternoon, causing the players to adjust balls tosses, spins and shot velocities.
“You have to move your feet a little better and you have to keep your eye on the ball a little more,” said Haas of the windy conditions. “For us tennis players, we are adjusting pretty much every week. We go to different cities, we go to difference countries, play on difference surfaces. We have many excuses but at the same time we find many different solutions. That’s really what is all about, problem solving out here.”
En route to the final, Haas beat Mark Philippoussis 6-2 while Fish defeated Michael Chang 6-3. The win moves Haas into the lead in the Invesco Series QQQ rankings with 800 points afte tournament victories in both of his 2019 appearances.
The 2019 Invesco Series QQQ circuit continues July 21 with the Invesco Legends Newport at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Earlier this season, Haas kicked off the 2019 Invesco Series QQQ circuit by defeating Roddick 7-6 (2) in the title match at the Oracle Champions Cup in Newport Beach, California. James Blake won the second event of the season at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., defeating Courier 6-3 in the final. Lleyton Hewitt won the third title of the season in Charleston, S.C.
The remaining 2019 Invesco Series QQQ schedule is as follows:
Newport, RI – July 21 (International Tennis Hall of Fame): Todd Martin, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander
San Jose, CA – August 3: James Blake, Andy Roddick, Mark Philippoussis, Michael Chang
New Haven, CT – September 7 (Venue and Players TBA)
Toronto, ON – September 26 (Mattamy Athletic Centre): Players TBA
Los Angeles, CA – Date and Venue TBA: Players TBA
Austin, TX – November 15: Venue and Players TBA
In 2018, Blake won his first Invesco Series QQQ year-long points championship by winning titles in Winston-Salem, New Haven and Houston, while also finishing as runner-up in Los Angeles and Orlando.
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.
