Scud gets another title

34-year-old Mark Philippoussis won his second successive title in ATP Champions Tour beating two years older Tim Henman in straight sets in the final of the  BNP Paribas Zurich Open. The semi-retired Australian, two weeks ago triumphed in Delray Beach  and considered playing the qualifying tournament in Indian Wells, but finally decided to participate in another event purposed for retired players. “I’m really pleased to win another title on the Tour,” says Philippoussis. “Tim was a little slow in starting and I took advantage of that but as the match went on he warmed up a little and started serving bigger and we had some good points. It was a really good match. I love this Tour. Hopefully I can play a lot more ATP Champions Tour events because I’m having so much fun. My love for tennis came back because of these events. I love the way they’re set up, they’re so relaxed – we hang out together, we get on the court and have some fun but we’re still competitive. This has been a great week.” En route to the title, Scud beat four players, three of them (Ivanisevic, Sampras, Henman) after identical scoreline – 6-3, 7-6! The beaten finalist Henman, played for the first time in his life with Ivan Lendl at the ’round robin’ stage and demolished him 6-2, 6-2. Henman began his ATP career in 1994, it was a year in which Lendl finished his career. They could have met only in two tournaments 17 years ago (Tokyo-outdoor and New Haven). Henman about their first match: “Tonight was great. When I was just starting out in my tennis career Lendl was dominating the game. I loved watching his play and loved his technique and the way he hit the ball so it was great to get the chance to finally play him.“

Philippoussis’s road to the title:
rr Goran Ivanisevic 6-3, 7-6(2)
rr Thomas Muster 4-6, 6-2, [10-7]
rr Pete Sampras 6-3, 7-6(4)
W Tim Henman 6-3, 7-6(3)