NEW YORK, NY (Oct. 24, 2011)—By winning five of the seven events he competed in, Pete Sampras claimed the top spot in the 2011 Champions Series and took home the first place winner’s share of $500,000. Jim Courier came from behind to win two of the final three events and vaulted himself into second place to capture $350,000, while Andre Agassi—who won twice in seven starts overall—finished third and earned $150,000.
"To finish in the top spot among this caliber of competition is something I'm very proud of," said Sampras. "I love to compete and taking on Andre, Jim, Johnny Mac, Michael Chang and all of the great players on this Series is something I enjoyed thoroughly. I look forward to defending my top spot in 2012."
Sampras compiled an overall match record of 11-2 during the Series, losing only once to Andre Agassi in the finals of the Las Vegas event, and once to Michael Chang in the semifinals in Washington D.C. He took two out of three duels with Agassi, and three of four from Chang, while defeating Courier in three hard-fought match ups.
Courier claimed second place with his two titles and four runner-up finishes. He went 4-1 over the final three events in Chicago, St. Louis, and Buffalo to move past Agassi in the standings.
"I fought hard at the end to get past Andre and into the 2nd position in the rankings," said Courier. "I needed to beat Pete in LA to push him for the top spot, but he clipped me in a tiebreaker there and certainly deserved the ranking. I will be back to take another run at it in 2012."
Agassi won titles in Boston and his hometown of Las Vegas and finished runner up in Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
FINAL 2011 Champions Series Standings Points Bonus Pool Prize Money
1 Sampras 2200 $500,000
2 Courier 1600 $350,000
3 Agassi 1500 $150,000
4 Chang 1100
5 Martin 900
McEnroe 900
7 Connors 200
8 Lendl 100
Wilander 100
The top three finishers in the Champions Series rankings split a pool of $1,000,000. Individual point totals consist of the best six tournament results for each player, added up. 1st place—$500,000; 2nd place—$350,000; 3rd place—$150,000.
Points per tournament: Winner—400; Finalist—200; Semifinalist—100
2011 Champions Series Results
Sept. 22 Florida Sampras def. Chang, 6-4 Courier def. Connors, 7-5 Sampras def. Courier, 8-6
Sept. 23 Wash DC Chang def. Sampras, 6-4 Courier def. Agassi, 7-6 (4) Chang def. Courier, 8-3
Sept. 24 Philadelphia Agassi def. Courier, 6-3 Sampras def. Connors, 6-4 Sampras def. Agassi, 8-7 (5)
Sept. 30 Minneapolis Chang def. Courier, 6-4 Martin def. Agassi, 6-4 Martin def. Chang, 8-5
Oct. 1 Boston Courier def. Chang, 6-3 Agassi def. Lendl, 7-5 Agassi def. Courier, 8-5
Oct. 8 Arizona Courier def. Wilander, 6-3 Sampras def. Chang, 6-3 Sampras def. Courier, 8-7 (4)
Oct. 13 Seattle Chang def. Courier, 6-4 Sampras def. McEnroe, 6-4 Sampras def. Chang, 8-4
Oct. 14 Los Angeles Sampras def. Courier, 7-6 (3) Agassi def. McEnroe, 6-3 Sampras def. Agassi, 8-6
Oct. 15 Las Vegas Sampras def. McEnroe, 6-4 Agassi def. Courier, 6-3 Agassi def. Sampras, 8-5
Oct. 20 Chicago Courier def. Martin, 6-3 Agassi def. McEnroe, 6-4 Courier def. Agassi, 8-7 (3)
Oct. 21 St. Louis Courier def. Chang, 6-4 Martin def. McEnroe, 6-4 Courier def. Martin, 8-7 (5)
Oct. 22 Buffalo Martin def. Chang, 6-2 McEnroe def. Courier, 6-3 McEnroe def. Martin, 8-5