Powershares, McEnroe bring tennis back to Brooklyn

Last Saturday, tennis made its grand return to Brooklyn with the PowerShares QQQ Cup at the Barclays Center.

It was the first tennis event in Brooklyn since 1935, when Bill Tilden won the US Open Pro Championship at the Terrace Club.

The 2016 PowerShares series finale featured seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier and former world No. 4 James Blake.

On a night of heavy snowfall, fans still came out to see Blake defeat his old rival Roddick, 6-4, and homegrown hero McEnroe top Courier 6-3.

The format of the series is one set only and allows for players to make their own line calls with the assistance of electronic line-calling.

In Saturday night's final, Blake defeated McEnroe, 6-4 to win the cup. It marked Blake's third title in the PowerShares Series in the past year (he has won events in Chicago and Portland).

"I was trying to get chances early on, but he erased them all with good serves," Blake said. "I pray that I can serve that well at 57 years old, or moving or anything he is doing this well at 57.

McEnroe started a tennis academy on nearby Randall's Island, which brought him a lot of local support. He was raised in New York and currently resides in Manhattan.

"I love to work out. I feel better doing that, for starters, so just the fact that I can get out there and try to conjure up that I can actually do something is nice," McEnroe said. "But I think that’s one of the great things about tennis. It’s a sport you can really play a lot later than the other sports. So that’s hopefully something people will see and appreciate. I certainly do."

Blake won the Barclays event, but it would be Mark Phillippoussis who finished the 2016 Powershares Series year at No. 1 (just edging past Roddick).