return to tennis MSG Winning the Garden Cup for the first time in 6 years
The Legends Team Cup hosted the men’s and women’s exhibitions at Madison Square Garden, the world’s largest sports stadium. Each match consisted of three sets, with a decider if necessary. 7-Point tie break. To speed up the process, an ad-free scoring method was utilized where recipients choose where they would like to receive it.
To the delight of sell-out crowds, the Garden Cup is full of power, variety and frivolity. The women’s event featured top 10 American stars Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro.
Pegula Rank #7 And in Buffalo, New York had an outstanding season defending her title. WTA 1000 Reached her first Grand Slam final at the event in Toronto. us open. New Yorker Emma Navarro won her first career title and finished in the #10 in Hobart earlier in the season.8 After her amazing run us Open semifinals. They met once on tour at the Miami Open, where Pegula won back-to-back wins.
Navarro won the toss and elected to serve. She faced a triple break point and dumped her serve after three unforced errors. Pegula Production 4/7 He served first, but recovered the break with a net volley.
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Navarro smashed an ace wide and ripped a backhand down the line to get on the board while Pegula missed. 3/4 The first serve is a drop serve. Navarro faced break point with a forehand to the net and dropped serve with another.
Pegula Production 2/4 First, it provided a break for love and consolidated it. 3-3. Navarro was nearly perfect on defense and it paid dividends as she defended. 4-3 Next deuce.
Pegula, serving with a new ball, hit his first ace to maintain parity, while Navarro hit two winners, including his second ace, at love-hold. Pegula has won three in a row with another win and another favorite. 5-5.
Once Navarro got to the line, it looked like a tiebreak was imminent. She hit a forehand down the line but dropped her serve with a double fault at first. Pegula took care of the setup. 6-5 But three costly errant forehands led to a break.
The crowd was all in when Navarro served first on a breaker. led by Navarro 4-2 When the end changes and the set point is reached 6-4 However, Pegula refused to surrender. she leveled up 6-6 A fantastic forehand effort but two errors on that side cost him the set.
Pegula went first on her second serve and faced a break point, but used a slice backhand and drop shot to secure the game. Navarro hit two winners, including another ace, but dropped his serve when he landed a forehand.
Pegula opened the third with a crisp crosscourt backhand, but three unforced errors, including a double fault, cost him the game. Navarro introduced the new ball with a backhand drop shot and consolidated the break with a stunning forehand down the line. 2-2.
As both continued to hit with abandon, Pegula hit two winning volleys, but it was all to no avail as she dumped her serve following two excellent winners from her opponent.
Navarro started the sixth with a fierce backhand downline pass and caught it easily. 15 To incorporate breaks while Pegula is making 3/5 Serve first and stay 15 for 3-4. Playing a high-risk game, Navarro reduced the lead with a nice running forehand following a line pass.
Remaining in the match, Pegula faced a 0-30 lead but continued to fight. 4-5. Navarro served for the match but faced triple break point and a dump serve when Pegula ripped a return down the line.
Pegula faced 0-40 as errors continued and he regained the break when Navarro hit an overhead. charleston, S.C. The resident took part in the game once again, this time using a new ball. She quickly reached triple match point, but dropped the next two points before closing out the game, set and match. 7-5.
It was a really fun and exciting match between the two players. WTA The tour’s elite ball striker and mover. There were jokes and big smiles everywhere on the court throughout the exhibition, but the women played with a sense of urgency and desire to win.
But the guys took it to another level and I’m not sure the capacity crowd was fully on board. Although reasonably priced tickets were available, many people paid thousands of dollars to see the World #.3 Carlos Alcaraz will face American left-hander Ben Shelton.
Alcaraz is currently ranked #1 at just 21 years old.3He has already achieved first place and four Grand Slams. Shelton was a year older. 2022 NCAA Champions and World #21. in 2023 He advanced to the semifinals us He won his first Open title in Tokyo and his second in Houston last spring. Alcaraz won both of their tour-level meetings on hard courts.
They fell in love as Shelton served first and Alcaraz held on. 30 By level. The American hit an ace off the tee and easily nailed the shot. 15 The Spaniard gifted two unforced errors, including a double error on a dump serve.
Shelton started with two consecutive forehand errors and consolidated the break despite being at deuce. 3-1. Absorbing the energy of the enthusiastic crowd, Alcaraz hit his first ace and was easily caught. 15 for 2-4. Shelton allowed a total of three consecutive errors and discarded serve after Alcaraz hit a backhand volley.
The current Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion smashed a forehand down the line and struggled to consolidate the break. Shelton hit two more winners, including another ace. 5-4. Alcaraz, who stayed in the set and served, committed a double fault and conceded it after attempting two consecutive net backhands.
Shelton had momentum and made few unforced errors. It seemed like the American would sweep in a straight line. Worldwide #1 But I had a different idea. Shelton was on top in the second, using a well-struck tweener and inside-in forehand. 30.
Alcaraz is 30 Stays level despite donating another double fault. The American improved his odds with two straight wins and a hold at love. Alcaraz hit another ace and served to a tee with a monster. 2-2.
The fifth game began with a spectacular cat-and-mouse exchange with another tweener and volley winner. Suddenly a “fan” came onto Shelton’s court and “played” the next point! Soon after, the American double-faulted and conceded serve.
Made by Alcaraz 3/4 First, it provided and consolidated loving rest. Despite facing break point, Shelton got back in business with four outstanding winners, including executing a crosscourt backhand for game point. Made by Alcaraz 6/6 Served first and sealed the set. 6-2 When Shelton hits a forehand.
A 7-point tiebreaker determines the winner. Shelton hit an ace down the side to level it. 2-2 But Alcaraz scored the next three points. The shenanigans continued as two “fans” came out on the court and “played” the point. Why Alcaraz was awarded the point is debatable. The Spaniard would go on to win the breaker 7-4 When Shelton overcooked his forehand return.
There were jaw-dropping points, incredible court coverage, and sublime shot-making, but I’m not a fan of the antics! If that’s your cup of tea, promote it as a pro-am or charity event.
People were paying top dollar for exhibition games and the city was hungry for these double bill matchups. Avid tennis enthusiasts have been waiting for years to watch professional tennis play in the garden. If I had paid thousands of dollars for this event, I don’t think I would have been happy to see “fans” gathering on the court to “hit” the ball. There is a time and place for that. But this wasn’t the case.
