ECC Antwerp

Last updated
ECC Antwerp
Defunct tennis tournament
Event nameEuropean Champions' Championship (1982–1985)
The European Community Championship (1986–1998)
TourInvitational/Exhibition (1982–1991)
World Series (1992–1994)
Championship Series (1996–1998)
Founded1982
Abolished1998
Editions16
Location Antwerp, Belgium
Venue Sportpaleis
Surface Carpet (indoor) (1982–1996)
Hard (indoor) (1997–1998)

The European Community Championship was a men's professional tennis tournament held from 1982 until 1998 in Antwerp, Belgium. The tournament was held as a special invitational/exhibition event run outside the Grand Prix series and did not distribute any ATP ranking points until 1992, when the tournament became part of the ATP Tour. While an exhibition tournament, invitations were extended to players who won a tournament title in Europe during that year. The surface of the tournament was indoor carpet.

Contents

The inaugural event was held in December 1982, with a $700,000 purse on offer for 24 players. At that time, the high level (Super Series) European Grand Prix events like the Italian Open or indoor tournament in Wembley, London offered only $300,000 and $200,000 respectively.

It was called the European Champions' Championship and from 1986 was renamed the European Community Championship (ECC). Its nickname was the "Gold Racquet" tournament because if a player won the tournament thrice within a 5-year span, he would also receive a special trophy, a life-size, 13.2-pound gold racquet studded with 1,420 diamonds valued at $1,000,000, created by the artist Varozza. This inspired the Proximus Diamond Games, a WTA Tour event held in Antwerp since 2002, to have a similar trophy system.

In 1985, Ivan Lendl won his third title within 4 years and received the $200,000 winners prize together with the Gold Racquet. In 1991, Boris Becker spoiled Lendl's quest for a $1,250,000 million prize ($250,000 prize money plus the $1,000,000 racquet) at the ECC in Antwerp by beating him in the semifinals. Had Lendl won, he would have kept the gold-and-diamond racquet trophy valued at about $1,000,000, adding to his from 1985. He was in the running for a second after victories in 1987 and 1989, but wound up with only $100,000 that year.

Past finals

Singles

YearDate FinalPrize MoneyChampionRunner-upScore
Special / Invitational event
1982Dec 5
$700,000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3, 6–3
1983Nov 20
$750,000
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe Flag of the United States.svg Gene Mayer 6–4, 6–3, 6–4
1984Nov 18
$800,000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of Sweden.svg Anders Järryd 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
1985Nov 3
$850,000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–2
1986Nov 10
$940,000
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Miloslav Mečíř 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–2
1987Nov 1
$940,000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Miloslav Mečíř 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
1988Nov 6
$940,000
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Andrei Chesnokov 6–1, 7–5, 6–2
1989Oct 29
$1,000,000
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Miloslav Mečíř 6–2, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4
1990Oct 21
$1,100,000
Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Goran Ivanišević Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 6–2, 7–6(8–6), 4–6, 4–6, 6–1
1991Dec 8
$1,250,000
Flag of the United States.svg Aaron Krickstein Flag of Germany.svg Boris Becker walkover
ATP Tour
1992Nov 15
$1,000,000
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Richard Krajicek Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Woodforde 6–2, 6–2
1993Nov 14
$1,100,000
Flag of the United States.svg Pete Sampras Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Gustafsson 6–1, 6–4
1994Nov 13
$1,100,000
Flag of the United States.svg Pete Sampras Flag of Sweden.svg Magnus Larsson 7–6(7–5), 6–4
1995Not held
1996 Feb 19
$1,100,000
Flag of Germany.svg Michael Stich Flag of Croatia.svg Goran Ivanišević 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
1997 Feb 23
$1,000,000
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Marc Rosset Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tim Henman 6–2, 7–5, 6–4
1998 Feb 23
$1,000,000
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Greg Rusedski Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Marc Rosset 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–1, 6–4

Doubles

YearWinnersRunners-upScore
1992 Flag of the United States.svg John Fitzgerald
Flag of Sweden.svg Anders Järryd
Flag of the United States.svg Jared Palmer
Flag of the United States.svg Patrick McEnroe
6–2, 6–2
1993 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Grant Connell
Flag of the United States.svg Patrick Galbraith
Flag of South Africa.svg Wayne Ferreira
Flag of Spain.svg Javier Sánchez
6–3, 7–6
1994 Flag of Sweden.svg Jan Apell
Flag of Sweden.svg Jonas Björkman
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hendrik Jan Davids
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Sébastien Lareau
4–6, 6–1, 6–2
1995Not held
1996 Flag of Sweden.svg Jonas Björkman
Flag of Sweden.svg Nicklas Kulti
Flag of Russia.svg Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Menno Oosting
6–4, 6–4
1997 Flag of South Africa.svg David Adams
Flag of France.svg Olivier Delaître
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sandon Stolle
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Cyril Suk
3–6, 6–2, 6–1
1998 Flag of South Africa.svg Wayne Ferreira
Flag of Russia.svg Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Flag of Spain.svg Tomás Carbonell
Flag of Spain.svg Francisco Roig
7–5, 3–6, 6–2

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Lendl</span> Czech-American tennis player

Ivan Lendl is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a then-record 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. He won eight major singles titles and was runner-up 11 times, making him the first man to contest 19 major finals. Lendl also contested a record eight consecutive US Open finals and won seven year end championships including five Grand Prix Masters and two WCT Finals. Lendl is the only man in professional tennis history to have a match winning percentage of over 90% in five different years. He also had a comfortable head-to-head winning record against his biggest rivals, which translates to a 22–13 record against Jimmy Connors and a 21–15 record against John McEnroe. Lendl's dominance of his era was most evident at the year-end championships, which feature the eight best-ranked singles players. He holds a win–loss record at the event of 39–10, having contested the final nine consecutive times, a record. Commonly referred to as the 'Father Of Modern Tennis' and 'The Father Of The Inside-Out Forehand', Lendl pioneered a new style of tennis; his game was built around his forehand, hit hard and with a heavy topspin, and his success is cited as a primary influence in popularizing the now-common playing style of aggressive baseline power tennis. After retirement, he became a tennis coach for several players; in particular, he helped Andy Murray win three major titles and reach the world No. 1 ranking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefan Edberg</span> Swedish tennis player (born 1966)

Jan Stefan Edberg is a Swedish former world No. 1 professional tennis player. A major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles between 1985 and 1996. He is one of only two men in the Open Era to have been ranked world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, the other being John McEnroe. Edberg also won the Masters Grand Prix and was a part of the Swedish Davis Cup-winning team four times. In addition, he won four Masters Series titles, four Championship Series titles and the unofficial 1984 Olympic tournament, was ranked in the singles top 10 for ten successive years and ranked nine years in the top 5. After retirement, Edberg began coaching Roger Federer in January 2014, with this partnership ending in December 2015.

World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments around the world were affiliated with WCT and players were ranked in a special WCT ranking according to their results in those tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotterdam Open</span> Tennis tournament

The ABN AMRO Open, also known as the Rotterdam Open, and formerly known as: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the ATP Tour and has been held annually at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The Tokyo Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played in Tokyo, Japan on indoor carpet courts from 1966 to 1995.

The Richmond WCT, also known by its sponsored names Fidelity Bankers Invitational and United Virginia Bank Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played in Richmond, Virginia in the United States founded in 1966 as the Richmond Invitational Indoor Championships. The inaugural edition in February 1966 was a two-day event with eight player and without prize money. The first six editions, from 1966 through 1971, were invitational tournaments and were held at the Richmond Arena. The 1970 edition was the first one to offer prize money, namely $12,500. In 1972 the event became part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Tour and moved to the Richmond Coliseum. All subsequent editions were held at the Coliseum except for the 1983 edition which was held at the Robins Center. All editions were held on indoor carpet courts. Lou Einwick was the tournament chairman or director for all editions.

The U.S. Professional Indoor Championships, also known as U.S. Pro Indoor, was a professional tennis tournament founded in 1962 as the Philadelphia Invitational Indoor Tennis Championships. The tournament was held in Philadelphia, United States from 1962 to 1998. It played on indoor carpet courts, and indoor hard courts. It was an ILTF sanctioned event from 1962 to 1967 and again in 1970, the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit in 1968, 1969 and from 1971 to 1977 and the Grand Prix Tour from 1978 to 1989 before being held on the ATP Tour. It was held annually first at the Spectrum, and then at the CoreStates Center. It was originally named the Philadelphia Indoor Open Tournament prior to the open era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit

The 1986 Nabisco Grand Prix was the only tennis circuit held that year. The tour consisted of 70 tournaments in 23 different countries. It incorporated three of the four grand slam tournaments, three World Championship Tennis tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. The season ending Masters tournament was moved from the January slot to December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit

The 1985 Nabisco Grand Prix was a professional men's tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of 71 tournaments held in 19 different countries. The tour incorporated the four ITF grand slam tournaments, three World Championship Tennis tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. Total prize money for the circuit was $23 million. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC). In November 1985 the MIPTC sued player–management agencies ProServ and IMG alleging that these firms were holding the tennis game hostage and were 'exerting extensive power over players'.

The Toronto Indoor was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts, held at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit and later, for one year, the ATP Championship Series of the ATP Tour.

The 1982 Masters was a men's tennis tournament held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States between 18–23 January 1983. It was the year-end championship of the 1982 Volvo Grand Prix tour and was played on indoor carpet courts. The round-robin format of previous editions was replaced by a knock-out tournament featuring the 12 highest ranking singles players as well as the six best doubles teams of the Grand Prix circuit. The top four seeds in the singles event received a bye in the first round and all singles matches were played as best-of-three sets, except the final which was a best-of-five set match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McEnroe career statistics</span>

Former tennis player John McEnroe won a total of 155 ATP titles, 77 in ATP Tour singles, 77 in men's doubles, and 1 in mixed doubles. He won 25 singles titles on the ATP Champions tour. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles. He also won a record eight year end championship titles overall, the Masters championships three times, and the WCT Finals, a record five times. His career singles match record was 875–198 (81.55%). He posted the best single-season match record in the Open Era with win–loss record: 82–3 (96.5%) set in 1984 and has the best carpet court career match winning percentage: 84.18% (411–65) of any player. McEnroe was the third male player to reach 3 consecutive Grand Slam finals, in a calendar year during the open era, in 1984 after Rod Laver reached all 4 Grand Slam finals in 1969 and Bjorn Borg reached the last 3 Grand Slam finals in 1978, 1980, and 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Lendl career statistics</span>

This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Ivan Lendl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit

The 1980 Volvo Grand Prix was a men's professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four grand slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments. The Grand Prix circuit is a precursor to the ATP Tour.

The 1986 Milan Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. The event was part of the 1986 Nabisco Grand Prix. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and was played at the PalaLido in Milan, Italy from 10 March until 16 March 1986. First-seeded Ivan Lendl won the singles title, his second at the event after 1983, and earned $80,000 first-prize money.

The Open Era is the current era of professional tennis. It began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments allowed professional players to compete with amateurs, ending the division that had persisted since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first open tournament was the 1968 British Hard Court Championships held in April, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam tournament, the 1968 French Open, a month later. Unless otherwise sourced, all records are based on data from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official websites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. All rankings-related records are based on ATP rankings, which began in 1973. The names of active players appear in boldface.

The 1980 U.S. National Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States. The event was part of the Grand Prix circuit. It was the 11th edition of the tournament in the open era and was held from February 25 through March 3, 1980. First-seeded John McEnroe won the singles title and $40,000 first-prize money. As a result of his title win McEnroe overtook Björn Borg as the ATP world No. 1 ranked player.

The Memphis Open was a professional tennis tournament that ran from 1975 to 2017. From 1977 onwards, the event was held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis Open was the only ATP event in the United States which was played on indoor hard courts; it usually took place in February. For part of its history it was a combined men's and women's tournament, but for its final four years it was solely a men's tournament.

The 1981 United Virginia Bank Classic, also known as the Richmond WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The event was part WCT Tour which was incorporated into the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the 16th edition of the tournament and was held from February 2 through February 8, 1981. Eighth-seeded Yannick Noah won the singles title and $35,000 first-prize money after his opponent in the final Ivan Lendl retired with a pulled leg muscle.

The 1983 Cuore Cup was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor Sport Turf carpet courts at the Palazzo dello Sport in Milan, Italy. The event was part of the Super Series tier of the 1983 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from 21 March until 27 March 1983. First-seeded Ivan Lendl won the singles title and earned $70,000 first-prize money. Attendance at the tournament was down compared to the levels of the editions in the late 1970s due to the competition of exhibition matches.

References