Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe and Lendl Prep for BNP Paribas Showdown at MSG

With only weeks remaining before the much anticipated BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden, tennis legends Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl are in preparations for their respective match ups at The World’s Most Famous Arena on Feb. 28, 2011. The 2011 BNP Paribas Showdown will renew classic rivalries of the 80s and 90s, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl will compete in a one set pro match (first player to win eight games), followed by a best of three set match between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

The official ‘Countdown to The Showdown’ begins Sunday, and will mark the 22 days leading up to the event. The number 22 is significant as it represents the number of Grand Slam titles of Sampras (14) and Agassi (8) combined. The Countdown will be marked on the event Web site (www.tennisshowdown.com), as well as the event’s Twitter and Facebook pages, with a daily dose of information highlighting the four legendary players in the BNP Paribas Showdown.

Agassi, who will face Sampras in the featured match, recently returned from Taiwan where he was fine tuning his return of serve and overall game during a couple of matches with Marat Safin. Agassi won both matches in third-set match tie-breaks. After an emotional final appearance at the 2006 U.S. Open, Agassi returns to New York to face his long-time rival, before joining him in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where Agassi will be inducted this coming summer.

Sampras, who took Roger Federer to three sets in 2008 at Madison Square Garden is accustomed to these settings and is preparing for a grudge match against Agassi. Before making his way to New York, Sampras will play in a featured exhibition against Gael Monfils, who is currently ranked number 12 in the world, on Feb. 7 in San Jose, Calif. Sampras debuted in 1988 and played his last professional tournament in 2002, when he captured the U.S. Open, defeating his rival Agassi in the final.

New York native McEnroe is no stranger to Madison Square Garden where he captured the Masters title three times, twice beating his rival Ivan Lendl. McEnroe will head south to the Delray Beach International Tennis Championship where he will face Jimmy Arias on Feb. 19, Todd Martin on Feb. 20 and Aaron Krickstein on Feb. 21, before heading home to show off his shot making artistry against Lendl on The Garden court one last time. 

Lendl, who advanced to the Master’s final at Madison Square Garden a record eight times with winning five titles, has been gearing up for his showdown against McEnroe. The two legends have history at MSG with Lendl beating McEnroe in the 1983 Masters Final (6-4, 6-4, 6-2), and McEnroe winning back to back titles against Lendl in 1984 (6-3, 6-4, 6-4) and again in 1985 (7-5, 6-0, 6-4). Recently, McEnroe beat his old foe during a round robin tournament in Adelaide prior to the Australian Open. Lendl recently was in Berlin, Germany where he beat Carl Uwe Steeb (6-3 5-7 10-7) (tiebreak for the third set) in an exhibition match.

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