LONDON, December 10, 2018

Juan Carlos Ferrero successfully defended his Champions Tennis crown. The 38-year-old Spaniard defeated former World No. 2 Tommy Haas of Germany 6-3, 7-6(3) in Sunday’s singles final at Royal Albert Hall in London.

“I’m very happy because the atmosphere in the finals is always a bit different compared to the other matches,” Ferrero was quoted on ATPChampionsTour.com. “Here at the Royal Albert Hall, you can tell that the crowd is enjoying it a lot and there’s a lot of respect from the other players. It always makes it more special when you win.”

Mark Philippoussis of Australia secured third place beating Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 7-6(7), 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes.

“I felt like today I had the most rhythm. I was happy with the way I played, win or lose,” Philippoussis said. “It is a pleasure being out on the court and with Malisse who is so talented. Some of the shots he was hitting were incredibly impressive. I feel like today I hit the ball the best compared to the rest of the matches.”