Tennis takes center stage at the World’s Most Famous Arena
As any pro tennis player will tell you, the tennis schedule is vastly overcrowded. Add Davis Cup play to an already demanding ATP calendar and you have some very unhappy stars. So how does Madison Square Garden manage to get four of the best players in the world—Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, and Caroline Wozniacki— to happily volunteer to add the BNP Paribas Showdown on March 5 to their schedule?
“Tennis has an incredible big event feel here,” says Scott O’Neil, President of MSG Sports. “I’m not sure if it’s the celebrities in the crowd, the iconic ceiling, the athletes we’re able to attract, the fans always feel like something special of magical is about to happen here, and I think the players feel that way too.”
The Garden has always had a rich tennis history dating back decades to when professional could make significant money playing exhibitions against one another. The Garden often played host to many of those exhibitions. “When you look at the history of tennis at The Garden, you can essentially create the Hall of Fame,” O’Neil says. “That is how many great players have graced our halls.”
Stargames and legendary tennis agent Jerry Solomon produce the tournament. “I started my career working on the Colgate Grand Prix Masters at Madison Square Garden,” Solomon says. “I always felt that if tennis was to be played indoors, it had to be at The Garden. The atmosphere versus any other arena in the world pales in comparison. When I had the opportunity to put Pete Sampras and Roger Federer together in an event in 2008, the only place that seemed right was The Garden.”
Since then, Solomon and Madison Square Garden have shuffled the lineups to make it a marquee attraction along the line of great MSG boxing events. Last year, a sold-out crowd was abuzz over the matchup between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. And they were even more electric when hometown hero John McEnroe took on his rival, Ivan Lendl. During the match, McEnroe interacted with fans, bringing back memories of impromptu mid-match conversations at Flushing Meadows during the US Open.
“When you hear John McEnroe say ‘This is my favorite building in the world,’ you understand why players make the time to play here,” O’Neil says. Jerry Solomon agrees. “It’s one thing to make your mark with sponsors and with spectators. When we approached Caroline Wozniacki to play in it this year, she knew what it was. We didn’t have to explain it. She was in right away. To get a reaction like that from the No. 1 player in the world, with all the opportunities that she has presented to her, you know the tournament has arrived.”
The tournament itself will also be part of the USTA’s Tennis Night in America. Hundreds of viewing parties will take place at tennis clubs around the country to watch the matches take place live on ESPN. The matches provide a welcome night of tennis in New York midway through last year and this year’s US Opens. “It’s a night that pauses the tennis world,” O’Neil says. “Other than the Slams, there aren’t really many events that can say that.”