Tommy Haas made his Invesco Series debut April 7th by winning the QQQ Legends Charleston title defeating Andy Roddick 6-1 in the championship match at the Volvo Car Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina making him the player to beat when the series moves to the Kohala Coast on May 6th.
Haas, who turned 40 on April 3, ended his career on the ATP World Tour last year and officially announced his retirement at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open where is he is the Tournament Director. The former world No. 2 and silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games won his last career ATP match in Stuttgart, Germany last June on grass when he upset Roger Federer in the second round. Roddick, the winner of the year-long Invesco Series points title in 2015 and 2017, joked his displeasure of Haas joining the North American circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30 by saying there should be a rule that players should not be eligible to play on the series if they had beaten Federer within the last year.
Haas, John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Mardy Fish will be the four players competing in the inaugural Champions Cup hosted by the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and will play two one-set semifinal matches and a championship match between the winners. The tournament will be one of ten events in 2018 on the PowerShares Series, the North American tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30. Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows was also the host venue for the 1992 Davis Cup first round tie between the United States and Argentina, featuring McEnroe.
“It’s great that the PowerShares Series has made its way to Hawaii, which will undoubtedly be a very enjoyable event,” said McEnroe. “I have some good memories of playing at Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows in Hawaii from our first round Davis Cup match against Argentina in 1992, when we went on to win the title. It’s going to be great to come back, play some great tennis and enjoy a bit of Hawaiian paradise.”
Festivities will begin on Saturday May 5 at 2 pm with a charity kids clinic, following by VIP hit-with-the-pros sessions and VIP Player Party.
On Sunday, doors will open at 1 pm and the program will start with a local exhibition match. Haas and Fish, the Olympic silver medalists from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, respectively, will play the first semifinal at 2 pm, following by McEnroe, the four-time U.S. Open and three-time Wimbledon champion against Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion. The winners will then face off in the championship match to follow.
For more information and to purchase tickets go to PowerShares.com.
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