Pete Sampras will kick off his 2008 Outback Champions Series season this week as he will look to defend his title at the $150,000 Champions Cup Boston that begins Wednesday at the Agganis Arena in Boston. The Champions Cup Boston, which will be held April 30-May 4, is the third of eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over.

Last year, Sampras made his return to competitive tournament tennis in Boston and won the title, defeating Todd Martin in the final. The seven-time Wimbledon champion and the owner of a men’s record 14 major men’s singles championships, is grouped this year with John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Jimmy Arias in the event’s Group A. Sampras will open play against Arias on Thursday, May 1 and will play McEnroe on Friday evening, May 2 and Courier on Saturday evening, May 3.

InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, the New York-based owners and organizers of the Outback Champions Series and the Champions Cup Boston, announced Tuesday that Martin, the 2006 Champions Cup Boston champion, has withdrawn from the event due to a strained back and will be replaced by 1996 Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington.

The updated order of play for the event is as follows:

Wednesday, April 30
Beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Wayne Ferreira vs. Mikael Pernfors

Followed by

MaliVai Washington vs. Aaron Krickstein

Thursday, May 1

Beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Pete Sampras vs. Jimmy Arias

Followed by

John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier

Friday, May 2

Beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Wayne Ferreira vs. Aaron Krickstein

Followed by

MaliVai Washington vs. Mikael Pernfors

Beginning at 7:30 pm

Jim Courier vs. Jimmy Arias

Followed by

John McEnroe vs. Pete Sampras

Saturday, May 3

Beginning at 2:30 pm

MaliVai Washington vs. Wayne Ferreira

Followed by

John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Arias

Beginning at 7:30 pm

Mikael Pernfors vs. Aaron Krickstein

Followed by

Pete Sampras vs. Jim Courier

Sunday, May 4

Beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Third-place Match

Followed by

Championship Match

The Champions Cup Boston features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated tournament winner taking home $54,000. Players also compete for Champions Series points that will determine the Stanford Champions Rankings year-end No. 1 and the winner of a $100,000 year-end bonus.  All Champions Series events feature eight-man round-robin match formats with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the title match while second place finishers in each division meet in the third-place match.

Tickets begin at just $15 and can be purchased by calling (617) 931-2000 or at www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.