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By: Tony Callaio
Semifinal Saturday at the Family Circle Cup served up a special evening when John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova took the court for an exhibition called “Game, Set, Rock. Tennis. Amplified.” The exhibition was designed as the keystone of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premier Event’s weeklong celebration of its 10th year in Charleston.
Along with rockin’ tennis, the audience rocked to music by Blue Dogs, a Charleston country, bluegrass and rock band prior to the matches. Fans also had the opportunity to participate in a “McEnroe Look-a-Like” contest where contestants were encouraged to dress like McEnroe retro-style with short shorts, headbands and knee socks.
McEnroe and Courier played the best of 3-set singles format while the doubles teams of Courier/Seles and McEnroe/Kournikova played an eight-game pro set. Murphy Jensen served as host for the evening.
McEnroe and Courier took the court first with the first set going to McEnroe. Johnny Mac showed signs of old with his great touch off both wings and a drop shot any pro on the current tour would love to have. He interacted with the crowd and even at one point had an altercation with chair judge, Dewey Caulder on a line call. “You can’t be serious,” shouted McEnroe, which energized the crowd.
Courier came back taking the second set forcing a third set tiebreak with McEnroe topping Courier 14-12 in a 1:50.
The night got a bit more interesting when McEnroe teamed up with Kournikova and Courier with Seles in a eight-game pro set. All four players were wired interacting with each other and the crowd. McEnroe/Kournikova took the pro set, 8-4.
The evening concluded with a special performance by Blue Dogs in the Family Circle Stadium.
Monica Seles, former World No. 1, nine-time Grand Slam champion, and Family Circle Cup finalist in 1997, was added to the lineup to “Game, Set, Rock! Tennis. Amplified.” this past week.
Seles’ resume includes four Australian Opens, three French Opens, two US Opens and 178 career weeks as the No.1 player in the world (fifth-most all-time and the second-youngest player ever to rise to No.1 after Martina Hingis).
Seles reached the semifinals or better in three out of five appearances at the Family Circle Cup, her best showing being a runner-up finish to Martina Hingis in 1997 in an absolutely electric final, pushing then-world No.1 Hingis to the limit before falling in a third set tie-break. Seles was a semifinalist in 1998 and 2000.
During his tennis career, McEnroe, 51, was one of the most successful and high profile players in the history of tennis. Throughout his career, McEnroe won 17 Grand Slam titles, 77 career single titles, and 77 doubles titles. He earned over $12 million in his career winning over 81% of his matches. He won Wimbledon three time, and the U.S. Open four times. He won the French Open Mixed Doubles title with longtime friend Mary Carillo in 1977.
After his career, he became a broadcaster for such networks as USA, ESPN, NBC, and CBS.
McEnroe, a former Davis Cup captain, was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.
Jim Courier, a four-time Grand Slam finalist managed to take home two trophies from the Australian Open (1992, 1993) and the French Open (1991, 1992) He reached No.1 on the ATP Tour in February, 1992. Over his career, he amassed over $14 million.
He is the founder of InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York-based event promotion company, and Courier’s Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis programs in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Courier currently competes on the BlackRock Tour of Champions and the Outback Champions Series.
As a touring pro, Anna Kournikova reached No.8 in the world in singles in November 2002. In doubles, she reached No.1 in the world in 1999 with 16 career titles. She teamed up with Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2002 to win the Australian Open doubles. She became a French Open doubles finalist 1999. One of her career highlights was winning the WTA Championships tournament at the end of 1999 and 2000.
Kournikova is one of the most recognizable faces in the world on the court and off. She has been named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in “People” magazine 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003. She remains active on the court playing exhibitions for charities as well as playing for the St. Louis Aces in the World Team Tennis league.
Kournikova became a U.S. citizen in 2009.
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