Wilander Withdraws, Pernfors in at Senior Newport Tennis

NEWPORT, RI -- The International Tennis Hall of Fame today announced that 1986 French Open finalist Mikael Pernfors will replace Hall of Famer and fellow Swede Mats Wilander in the field of champions at the Gibson Guitar Champions Cup to be played August 22-26 in Newport, Rhode Island. Wilander was forced to withdraw from the event due to a lingering lower back injury. The Gibson Guitar Champions Cup will be the fourth of seven events on the 2007 Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events around the world featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30.


Pernfors, known as one of the most entertaining shot makers in tennis, won three titles during his ATP career, including the Canadian Open in 1993. He is best known for his run to the final of the French Open in 1986, where he defeated Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker before losing to Ivan Lendl in the final. The Swede's best showing on the Outback Champions Series was a fourth-place finish in Naples in 2006.

The Gibson Guitar Champions Cup schedule of play will consist of two round robin groups for the five day event. Headlining Group A will be three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, 1992 Olympic silver medalist Wayne Ferreira and Pernfors. Jim Courier, a Wimbledon finalist in 1993, headlines Group B that also features 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, two-time Wimbledon semifinalist Todd Martin and 1996 Wimbledon finalist Mal Washington.