- U.S. Pro Indoor
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This article is about the WCT/GP/ATP defunct tennis event. For the defunct women's tennis event of Philadelphia, see Advanta Championships Philadelphia.
U.S. Pro Indoor Defunct tennis tournament Created 1968 Ended 1998 Event name Philadelphia (1968–98) Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States (1968–98)Tour ATP Tour (1990–98)
Grand Prix Tour(1979–89)
GP Championship Series (1970–86)
WCT circuit (1968–78)Surface Hard (i) (1993/97–98)
Carpet (i) (1968–92/94–96)Pete Sampras won his first career singles title in Philadelphia in 1990, defeating Andrés Gómez in the final - he eventually reached four more finals, winning three timesThe U.S. Pro Indoor (mainly known as such during its run, but also as the U.S. Professional Indoor, the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor, the Comcast U.S. Indoor, and the Advanta Championships) is a defunct professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts, and indoor hard courts. It was part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit, between 1970 and 1986 it was a major ranking tournament of the Grand Prix Championship Series after which it became a Super Series tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. It was held annually first at the Spectrum, and then at the CoreStates Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1968 to 1998.
Contents
History
The United States Professional Indoor tennis championships were first created in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1968, as part of the newly created WCT circuit, rival of the National Tennis League (NTL). As the first event of the season, the Philadelphia U.S. Professional Indoor attracted all WCT stars at the Philadelphia Spectrum at each of its yearly editions, with Rod Laver, John Newcombe or Marty Riessen winning the event in the early 1970s. After the WCT absorbed the NTL in 1970, the tournament continued to exist within the WCT tour until 1979, when the event officially became part of the Grand Prix Tour, precursor of the current ATP Tour.
As part of the Grand Prix's top tier tournaments until 1986, the Philadelphia event known as the U.S. Pro Indoor since 1973, saw American players dominating the fields in the 1970s and 1980s, with Tim Mayotte reaching four finals, World No. 1s Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe six finals each, and Czechoslovak Ivan Lendl three. In 1985, Swiss watch company Ebel S.A. started its six-year sponsorship of the event, the tournament becoming until 1990 the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor.[1] The event entered the new ATP circuit in 1990 as part of the Championship Series, to see eighteen-year-old, and future US Open champion Pete Sampras win his first career title against Andrés Gómez.
In 1991, the event lost Ebel's sponsorship,[2] and went back to being the U.S. Pro Indoor for two editions, before Comcast became the sponsor of the event in 1992, effectively saving it from being discontinued.[3] In the following years, the Comcast U.S. Indoor's prize money was reduced to less than a million dollars, preventing the creation of attractive line ups, and gaining the nickname "Comatose U.S. Indoor".[4] In 1997, Advanta, already the sponsor of the 1971-created women's tournament of Philadelphia, the Advanta Championships, since 1995, took upon the sponsorship of the men's event, which also became the Advanta Championships. Pete Sampras won his third and fourth Philadelphia titles in the last two editions of the event, now taking place on indoor hard courts at the CoreStates Center, before it was definitely discontinued in 1998.
Past finals
Singles
Year Champion Runner-up Score 1998 Pete Sampras
Thomas Enqvist
7–5, 7–6(3) 1997 Pete Sampras
Patrick Rafter
5–7, 7–6(4), 6–3 1996 Jim Courier
Chris Woodruff
6–4, 6–3 1995 Thomas Enqvist
Michael Chang
0–6, 6–4, 6–0 1994 Michael Chang
Paul Haarhuis
6–3, 6–2 1993 Mark Woodforde
Ivan Lendl
5–4 retired 1992 Pete Sampras
Amos Mansdorf
6–1, 7–6(4), 2–6, 7–6(2) 1991 Ivan Lendl
Pete Sampras
5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3 1990 Pete Sampras
Andrés Gómez
7–6, 7–5, 6–2 1989 Boris Becker
Tim Mayotte
7–6, 6–1, 6–3 1988 Tim Mayotte
John Fitzgerald
4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 1987 Tim Mayotte
John McEnroe
3–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 1986 Ivan Lendl
Tim Mayotte
W/O 1985 John McEnroe
Miloslav Mečíř
6–3, 7–6, 6–1 1984 John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6 1983 John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
4–6, 7–6, 6–4, 6–3 1982 John McEnroe
Jimmy Connors
6–3, 6–3, 6–1 1981 Roscoe Tanner
Wojtek Fibak
6–2, 7–6, 7–5 1980 Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 1979 Jimmy Connors
Arthur Ashe
6–3, 6–4, 6–1 1978 Jimmy Connors
Roscoe Tanner
6–2, 6–4, 6–3 1977 Dick Stockton
Jimmy Connors
3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2 1976 Jimmy Connors
Björn Borg
7–6, 6–4, 6–0 1975 Marty Riessen
Vitas Gerulaitis
7–6(1), 5–7, 6–2, 6–7(0), 6–3 1974 Rod Laver
Arthur Ashe
6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 1973 Stan Smith
Robert Lutz
7–6(2), 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4 1972 Rod Laver
Ken Rosewall
4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6-2 1971 John Newcombe
Rod Laver
7–6(5), 7–6(1), 6–4 1970 Rod Laver
Tony Roche
6–3, 8–6, 6–2 1969 Rod Laver
Tony Roche
7–5, 6–4, 6–4 1968 Manuel Santana
Jan Leschly
8–6, 6–3 Doubles
References
- ^ Tuller, David (1987-06-07). "What's New In The Tennis Business". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D81338F934A35755C0A961948260. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Macnow, Glen (1991-02-12). "Hard Times For Pro Indoor Title Sponsor Missing For First Time In Years". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB2A183015CF63A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Jensen, Mike (1991-11-08). "New Sponsorship Saves Spectrum Tournament". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB2A29C9DBB125B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Fleishman, Bill (1997-02-21). "1996 Finalist Wooruff To Skip Advanta". Philadelphia Daily News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DN&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
External links
Philadelphia tournaments 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Grand Prix Championship Series (1970–1989) 1970–1971 Sydney · 1970–1973 Los Angeles · 1970–1974 Johannesburg · 1970–1977 Boston · 1970–1980, 1984–1989 Stockholm · 1970–1971, 1976–1989 London · 1970–1986 Philadelphia
1970–1989 Monte Carlo · Rome · 1972–1981 Las Vegas · 1973–1977 Indianapolis · 1974–1977 Washington · 1978–1989 Hamburg · Montreal/Toronto · 1978–1988 Tokyo Indoor · 1981–1989 Cincinnati
1982–1985 Forest Hills1986–1989 Miami · 1987–1989 Indian Wells · 1989 ParisATP Championship Series (1990–1997) 1990–1997 Philadelphia · Barcelona · Tokyo Outdoor · Stuttgart Outdoor · Washington · Indianapolis · New Haven · 1990 Toronto Indoor · 1990–1992 Brussels
1990–1994 Sydney Indoor · 1990–1995 Tokyo Indoor · Stuttgart Indoor · 1991–1997 Memphis · 1993–1997 Milan · 1996–1997 Antwerp · Vienna · 1997 SingaporeATP International Series Gold (1998–2008) 1998–2008 Memphis · Barcelona · Tokyo · Vienna · 1998–2001/2003–2008 Stuttgart · 1998 Antwerp · Philadelphia · New Haven · 1998–1999 Singapore
1998–2000 London · 1998–2002 Washington · Indianapolis · 1999–2008 Rotterdam · Kitzbühel · 2000–2008 Mexico City/Acapulco · 2001–2008 DubaiCategories:- ATP Tour
- Hard court tennis tournaments
- Indoor tennis tournaments
- Sports in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Tennis tournaments in the United States
- U.S. Pro Indoor
- World Championship Tennis
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