John McEnroe: Tennis and New York Go Together

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at Internationaled.org

Published: March 1, 2012

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It has been the warmest of winters in New York, one in which many golf courses in the area never actually closed, while area ski resorts suffered.  So as spring now fully approaches, the many tennis bubbles above the city’s courts will be coming down, and fans and players alike will head back to outdoor play as the professional tours head back to the United States, starting with the Indian Wells event in a week.

But before all that transformation, New York, like it is at the end of the summer for the US Open, will come front and center for an American tennis kickoff. It will occur as part of the annual “Tennis Night In America” event on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, featuring exhibition matchups between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova vs. Caroline Wozniacki in the BNP Paribas Showdown at the newly refurbished “World’s Most Famous Arena.”  The event has become an initial rite of spring for the tennis community, one to look forward to as winter turns the corner. But for the sport to turn the corner, its most vocal and influential spokesperson, John McEnroe, says more change is needed.

McEnroe, who hosted 40 New York Junior Tennis League kids for a clinic at Sportime Randall’s Island this week (he is this year’s spokesperson for the event), loves tennis in New York, and thinks that the inner city is still the place to find America’s next great star.

“I think one of the big mistakes the sport made was moving the ATP year-end event out of the Garden when I was playing,” he said.  “Madison Square Garden is a big time venue, and the atmosphere for concerts, the Knicks, the Rangers, is amazing. I loved playing there last year (he took on Ivan Lendl despite an ankle injury) and think that Monday night will be very exciting for those players participating. We need more of those type of events.”

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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