Jim Courier continued his love affair with Paris by taking the 2e Trophee Jean-Luc Lagardere, his first Delta Tour of Champions title of 2005.
Courier, last year's No.1 player in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings, defeated Cedric Pioline 7-6(4), 6-4 to add the Paris trophy to the French Open titles he won at Roland Garros in 1991 and 1992.
It moves the American closer to qualification for the season-ending Champions Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with two other events in Eindhoven and Essen still to play.
Courier and Pioline traded heavily from the baseline throughout, but Courier's ability to throw in an occasional, deadly drop-shot kept Pioline guessing.
After winning the first set on a tie-break, Pioline's resolve seemed to drift, and Courier accelerated away to take the title.
In the 3rd/4th place match, Sergi Bruguera won a battle of two former French Open champions. Bruguera triumphed 6-4, 6-3.
John McEnroe won the first event on the 2005 Delta Tour of Champions, the European section of the worldwide ATP Champions Tour, when he triumphed in Frankfurt in February. Bruguera overcame Pat Cash in the Doha final in April, and Goran Ivanisevic also beat Cash a week later in the Hong Kong final. Muster took the first clay court title of the year with victory in Rome in May, and then Pioline triumphed in Novi, Croatia in June. McEnroe won his second title of the year in the Algarve in August, and then Muster lifted the Graz crown to top the rankings.
Players compete for points throughout the year to qualify for The Champions Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London, November 29 - December 4. The top ten players in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings after all events are complete will qualify automatically. The field in London will increase to 12 with the addition of two wild cards. There is a $100,000 prize on offer for the winner in London.
To be eligible to compete on the ATP Champions Tour, players must have been either a World No.1 during their competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active on the ATP tour. Each event can also invite two players of its choice to take wild cards.
