ECC Antwerp

(Redirected from ATP Antwerp)

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.

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
LocationAntwerp, Belgium
VenueSportpaleis
SurfaceCarpet (indoor) (1982–1996)
Hard (indoor) (1997–1998)

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

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Singles

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Year Date Final Prize Money Champion Runner-up Score
Special / Invitational event
1982 Dec 5
$700,000
  Ivan Lendl   John McEnroe 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3, 6–3
1983 Nov 20
$750,000
  John McEnroe   Gene Mayer 6–4, 6–3, 6–4
1984 Nov 18
$800,000
  Ivan Lendl   Anders Järryd 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
1985 Nov 3
$850,000
  Ivan Lendl   John McEnroe 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–2
1986 Nov 10
$940,000
  John McEnroe   Miloslav Mečíř 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–2
1987 Nov 1
$940,000
  Ivan Lendl   Miloslav Mečíř 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
1988 Nov 6
$940,000
  John McEnroe   Andrei Chesnokov 6–1, 7–5, 6–2
1989 Oct 29
$1,000,000
  Ivan Lendl   Miloslav Mečíř 6–2, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4
1990 Oct 21
$1,100,000
  Goran Ivanišević   Henri Leconte 6–2, 7–6(8–6), 4–6, 4–6, 6–1
1991 Dec 8
$1,250,000
  Aaron Krickstein   Boris Becker walkover
ATP Tour
1992 Nov 15
$1,000,000
  Richard Krajicek   Mark Woodforde 6–2, 6–2
1993 Nov 14
$1,100,000
  Pete Sampras   Magnus Gustafsson 6–1, 6–4
1994 Nov 13
$1,100,000
  Pete Sampras   Magnus Larsson 7–6(7–5), 6–4
1995 Not held
1996 Feb 19
$1,100,000
  Michael Stich   Goran Ivanišević 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
1997 Feb 23
$1,000,000
  Marc Rosset   Tim Henman 6–2, 7–5, 6–4
1998 Feb 23
$1,000,000
  Greg Rusedski   Marc Rosset 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–1, 6–4

Doubles

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Year Winners Runners-up Score
1992   John Fitzgerald
  Anders Järryd
  Jared Palmer
  Patrick McEnroe
6–2, 6–2
1993   Grant Connell
  Patrick Galbraith
  Wayne Ferreira
  Javier Sánchez
6–3, 7–6
1994   Jan Apell
  Jonas Björkman
  Hendrik Jan Davids
  Sébastien Lareau
4–6, 6–1, 6–2
1995 Not held
1996   Jonas Björkman
  Nicklas Kulti
  Yevgeny Kafelnikov
  Menno Oosting
6–4, 6–4
1997   David Adams
  Olivier Delaître
  Sandon Stolle
  Cyril Suk
3–6, 6–2, 6–1
1998   Wayne Ferreira
  Yevgeny Kafelnikov
  Tomás Carbonell
  Francisco Roig
7–5, 3–6, 6–2

See also

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References

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