Tommy Haas defeated Andy Roddick 6-2 in the one-set championship match Monday to win The Greenbrier Classic in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for his 14th career title on the Champions Series Tennis circuit.
Haas, 43, continued his dominant play on the North American tennis tour for champion tennis players over the age of 30, now winning 24 of his last 26 matches, including all six so far this year. He has won all but five of the Champions Series Tennis he has played in since he joined the Champions Series Tennis circuit in 2018 shortly after retiring from the ATP Tour.
In his post-match interview with commentator Brett Haber after the final, Haas was asked why his game has seemingly not dropped since he retired from the ATP Tour.
“I just like to play tennis overall,” said Haas, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world No. 2. “It’s something I have been doing my whole life. I hope to continue for many, many years to come until the later stages of my life. I like coming out here and competing. That always makes me feel good. Playing against legends of the game, colleagues and friends, it’s as good as it gets.”
The Greenbrier Classic marked the conclusion to resort’s Salute to Heroes Weekend that commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States and benefited the First Responders Children’s Foundation. The tennis tournament marked the return of pro tennis to The Greenbrier after the intimate Creekside Stadium successfully hosting the entire World TeamTennis season in 2020.
“Hopefully we will be back here next year, also for some more days to really enjoy this place,” said Haas of The Greenbrier. “It’s a special place here.”
The Greenbrier Classic also marked the Champions Series Tennis debut of 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who was defeated by Roddick 6-2 in the semifinals. Haas beat James Blake 6-3 in the first semifinal of the afternoon. Haas collected the first prize paycheck of $25,000 to increase his 2021 prize money earnings to $75,000. Roddick earned $15,000 for his runner-up showing while Baghdatis and Blake pocketed $10,000 each. The matches will be televised on Fox Sports Net affiliates and Tennis Channel on tape delay in future weeks. All Champions Series events feature two one-set semifinal matches followed by a one-set championship match.
Earlier this year, Haas swept both titles at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, losing only five games combined in both events while beating Blake and Bob Bryan both by 6-1 margins in each respective final.
In 2020, Haas won the season-long points title for a second straight season, winning four titles – two at the Sherwood Country Club and two titles in Orlando – and finished with a 10-2 series match record.
In 2019, Haas finished with a perfect 10-0 record to win the year-long points championship for the first time. He won titles in Newport Beach, Calif., Maui, Hawaii, New Haven, Connecticut, Los Angeles and Houston to become the first player in the 15-year history of the Champions Series to be an undefeated year-end points champion.
In 2018, Blake won his first Champions Series 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 Champions Series 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 1,600 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.
Champions Series Tennis began in 2005 and over the last 16 years has featured some of the greatest names in men’s tennis, including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Michael Chang among others. Courier won the first Champions Series Tennis event held in 2005 in Houston at the Westside Tennis Club.
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