The BNP Paribas Showdown will return February 28, 2011 with four of the greatest players of all time. Renewing classic rivalries of the 1980's and 1990's, the Showdown will feature an eight-game pro set between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, followed by a best-of-three set match between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
The History of Tennis at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena, is located in the heart of the world’s most famous city. “The Garden,” originally built in 1879, was relocated four times before finally settling in the center of Manhattan in 1968.Home to two of the most famous sports franchises in history, the New York Rangers and the New York Knicks, and host to several infamous events like John F. Kennedy’s 15,000 guest birthday party and John Lennon’s very last concert, the Garden stages approximately 320 events a year.
Tennis has a longstanding tradition at Madison Square Garden, dating back to 1947. The height of tennis at the Garden was reached in 1977, when both the Men’s and Women’s year end championships were held there.
Some of the all-time greats that have excelled at the Garden include Martina Navratilova (7 titles), Ivan Lendl (5 titles), Steffi Graff (5 titles), John McEnroe (3 titles), Monica Seles (3 titles), Bjorn Borg (2 titles), and Chris Evert (1 title).
March of 2008 marked the first time Tennis had been in the Garden, since the last year the women's year-end championships were held in 2000. With an eight year absence, StarGames orchestrated the return of tennis to the world's most famous arena in a big way. On March 10, 2008 19,690 fans filled the Garden to watch all-time Grand Slam leader Pete Sampras take on number one ranked player in the world Roger Federer. After a celebration to tennis that included the likes of John McEnroe, Pat McEnroe, Stan Smith, Roy Emerson, Tony Trabert, Ivan Lendl and Billie Jean King, the two stars of the evening battled for nearly two and a half hours ending in third set tiebreaker in favor of Roger Federer.
2009 Showdown Banner Outside Madison Square Garden, "The World's Most Famous Arena"
On the heels of the success of the 2008 event, StarGames brought women's tennis back to the Garden for the first time in nine years in 2009 with the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup. On March 2, 2009 over 12,000 people braved a winter blizzard to attend the Billie Jean King Cup. Venus and Serena Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, respectively, in one-set semifinal matches. Following a tribute to Billie Jean King by President Bill Clinton, Serena defeated her sister 6-4, 6-3 for the inaugural championship.
The Billie Jean King Cup returned to Madison Square Garden for its second year March 1, 2010. By virtue of winning Grand Slam singles titles in 2009, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Kim Clijsters were invited to participate in the event. Venus Williams received a wild card into the event as the fourth competitor due to Serena having won multiple Grand Slam titles. Two weeks prior to the event, however, Serena Williams was forced to withdraw from the event due to an injury. 2008 French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic took Serena's place in the world-class field that played in front of 11,700 plus fans at the Garden and a live national television audience on ESPN2 and broadband audience on ESPN3. With an exciting and hardfought match that went late into the evening, Venus Williams outlasted Kim Clijsters 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
World Tour Championships History Colgate Masters at Madison Square Garden (1977-1989)
Year
Champion
Runner-up
Score
1989
Stefan Edberg
Boris Becker
46 76(6) 63 61
1988
Boris Becker
Ivan Lendl
57 76(5) 36 62 76(5)
1987
Ivan Lendl
Mats Wilander
62 62 63
1986
Ivan Lendl
Boris Becker
64 64 64
1985
Ivan Lendl
Boris Becker
62 76(4) 63
1984
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
75 60 64
1983
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
63 64 64
1982
Ivan Lendl
John McEnroe
64 64 62
1981
Ivan Lendl
Vitas Gerulaitis
67(5) 36 76(6) 62 64
1980
Bjorn Borg
Ivan Lendl
64 62 62
1979
Bjorn Borg
Vitas Gerulaitis
62 62
1978
John McEnroe
Arthur Ashe
67 63 75
1977
Jimmy Connors
Bjorn Borg
64 16 64
WTA Tour Championships at Madison Square Garden (1977, 79-2000)
