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Tennis Channel's All-Star Fantasy Showdown puts 25 years into one draw

A pair of simulated tournaments will put Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—among other legends—in the same bracket. The men's event begins June 8; the women's kicks off on June 15.

Published Jun 03, 2020

Tennis Channel's All-Star Fantasy Showdown puts 25 years into one draw

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Tennis Channel viewers are about to find out: Who would win a 32-man singles draw with all-time greats Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal? What about a ladies’ field that includes American Hall of Famer Jennifer Capriati and defending Wimbledon champion Simona Halep?

Beginning June 8, the Tennis Channel All-Star Fantasy Showdown is a first-of-its kind simulated, virtual tournament with actual head-to-head classic matches determining the ultimate champion. The men’s event takes place first with a match between career-Slam icon Andre Agassi and 1998 French Open-champion Carlos Moya Monday, June 8, at 1 p.m. ET. The women’s tournament will start a week later with two Hall of Famers: Justine Henin facing Amelie Mauresmo Monday, June 15, at 1 p.m. ET.

The event will run Monday through Friday for two consecutive weeks, with weekend recaps of the best competition from each. Following a 12 p.m. ET edition of one-hour studio-show Tennis Channel Live, All-Star Fantasy Showdown matches will take place throughout the afternoon and evening.

Leading into the coverage, host Steve Weissman (@SteveWeissman) will discuss the competitions with various analysts, including Hall of Famers Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76) and Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin), and former players Jimmy Arias (@ariastennis) and Paul Annacone (@paulannacone). A star on the women’s circuit from 1993 to 2010, Davenport is also featured in the women’s All-Star Fantasy Showdown event.

Tennis Channel's All-Star Fantasy Showdown puts 25 years into one draw

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The network used a panel of experts to put together the tournaments, seed the draws and research archives to select each head-to-head classic match that will determine which players advance throughout the week. Among them will be nine matches that have never been seen on U.S. television.

The result is a unique, cross-generational format that blends retired Hall of Famers like Sampras, Davenport, Andy Roddick and Martina Hingis with current history makers Nadal, Roger Federer, and sisters Serena and Venus Williams. At the same time, young stars Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem represent today’s emerging talent and the promise of the sport’s future. Also, the project reflects Tennis Channel’s almost two decades of existence and its ongoing mission to show as much tennis as possible to its audience.

Digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus will offer on-demand matches from the All-Star Fantasy Showdown. Network website www.tennis.com will also conduct daily polls and fan voting during the tournaments, and the network will interact with viewers on social media platforms throughout the competition.

In addition to Sampras, Agassi, the Williams sisters, Federer, Nadal, Capriati, Davenport, Roddick, Hingis and others, the fields for each 32-player tournament include some of the sport’s most beloved stars of the past quarter century. Among them are Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Kim Clijsters, Patrick Rafter, Victoria Azarenka, Andy Murray, Caroline Wozniacki and Lleyton Hewitt. All-Star Fantasy Showdown draws and tournament brackets will be available at tennis.com.