La Grande Sfida

Last updated

La Grande Sfida is a women's exhibition tennis tournament held at the Mediolanum Forum and hosted by the Boscolo Hotel in Milan (for the first two editions). [1] The first edition was held on 3 December, 2011. The second edition was held on 1 December, 2012. The third edition was held on 17 in Genoa and 18 October in Milan, 2014. The fourth edition will be held on 20 in Verona and 22 November in Modena, 2015.

Contents

2011 La Grande Sfida

The inaugural event this year featured the Williams sisters as well as 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and 2011 US Open quarter-finalist Flavia Pennetta.

Players

TeamPlayer 1Player 2Result
Flag of Italy.svg  ITA Francesca Schiavone Flavia Pennetta 3
Flag of the United States.svg  USA Venus Williams Serena Williams 2

Matches

3 December 2011
15:30 (CET)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 3–2Flag of the United States.svg  United States Mediolanum Forum, Milan
Attendance: 11,000
Report Individual matches
Flavia Pennetta 1–2 Serena Williams [8–6], [3–7], [3–7]
Francesca Schiavone 2–0 Venus Williams [7–5], [7–3]
Flavia Pennetta / Francesca Schiavone 1–2 Serena Williams / Venus Williams [7–3], [6–8], [6–8]
Flavia Pennetta 2–0 Venus Williams [8–6], [7–2]
Francesca Schiavone 2–1 Serena Williams [7–3], [8–10], [8–6]

2012 La Grande Sfida

The 2012 edition was held on December 1, 2012, in Milan, Italy. This year's players featured French Open finalists Sara Errani and Maria Sharapova as well as US Open quarter-finalists Roberta Vinci and Ana Ivanovic.

The first match, between Ana Ivanovic and Roberta Vinci, was a repeat of their second round match from the Rogers Cup earlier in the year in which Vinci won 6–0, 6–0. However, this time Ivanovic would gain her revenge, winning in a 12-point tiebreak.

The second match, between Maria Sharapova and Sara Errani, was a repeat of their French Open final in which Sharapova won to complete a Career Grand Slam. Sharapova was once again victorious, by a scoreline of 6–2.

The Italians would then gain their revenge over Ivanovic and Sharapova by scoring a 6–4 victory in the doubles rubber.

Players

Player 1Player 2Result
Flag of Italy.svg Sara Errani Flag of Italy.svg Roberta Vinci 1
Flag of Serbia.svg Ana Ivanovic Flag of Russia.svg Maria Sharapova 2

Matches

1 December 2012
16:00 (CET)
Report Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12Flag of Russia.svg  Russia and Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Mediolanum Forum, Milan
Attendance: 12,000
Score by game:
Roberta Vinci 67(5–7) Ana Ivanovic
Sara Errani 26 Maria Sharapova
Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci 64 Ana Ivanovic / Maria Sharapova

2014 La Grande Sfida

The 2014 edition was held on 17 October 2014 in Genoa and on 18 October 2014 in Milan, Italy. The event featured four legends of the ATP Champions Tour: the 8-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl, Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević, French Open champion Michael Chang and 7-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe. [2]

The semifinals were held in Genoa, [3] while the final and the 3rd place final were played the day after in Milan. [4]

Players

Player 1ResultPlayer 2ResultPlayer 3ResultPlayer 4Result
Flag of Croatia.svg Goran Ivanišević Champion Flag of the United States.svg Ivan Lendl Runner-up Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 3rd Place Flag of the United States.svg Michael Chang 4th Place

Draw

Semifinals (Genoa) Final (Milan)
          
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 2 63
Flag of Croatia.svg Goran Ivanišević 677
Flag of Croatia.svg Goran Ivanišević 66
Flag of the United States.svg Ivan Lendl 4 4
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Chang 4 2
Flag of the United States.svg Ivan Lendl 663rd/4th place Play-off
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 66
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Chang 3 3

2015 La Grande Sfida

The 2015 edition was held on 20 November 2015 in Verona and 22 November 2015 in Modena, Italy. The event featured 4 legends of the ATP Champions Tour: the 7-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, French Open champion Sergi Bruguera, French Open finalist Henri Leconte and 7-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe. [5] [6]

Players

Player 1ResultPlayer 2ResultPlayer 3ResultPlayer 4Result
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe Champion Flag of Spain.svg Sergi Bruguera Runner-up Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander 3rd Place Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 4th Place

Draw

Semifinals (Verona) Final (Modena)
          
Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 3 62
Flag of Spain.svg Sergi Bruguera 677
Flag of Spain.svg Sergi Bruguera 3 4
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 66
Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander 2 4
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 663rd/4th Place play-off
Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 5 6[5]
Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander 72 [10]

2016 La Grande Sfida

The 2016 edition was held from 19 to 20 November 2015 in Bari, Italy. [7] The event featured 4 legends of the ATP Champions Tour: the 7-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, French Open finalist Henri Leconte, Australian Open finalist Thomas Enqvist and French Open champion Thomas Muster. [8]

Thomas Enqvist won the title by defeating John McEnroe 6–2, 7–6(7–5) in the final. [9]

Players

Player 1ResultPlayer 2ResultPlayer 3ResultPlayer 4Result
Flag of Sweden.svg Thomas Enqvist Champion Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe Runner-up Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 3rd Place Flag of Austria.svg Thomas Muster 4th Place

Draw

Semifinals Final
          
Flag of Sweden.svg Thomas Enqvist 76
Flag of Austria.svg Thomas Muster 5 4
Flag of Sweden.svg Thomas Enqvist 677
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 2 65
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 76
Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 5 1 Third place match
Flag of Austria.svg Thomas Muster 5 6[9]
Flag of France.svg Henri Leconte 73 [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mats Wilander</span> Swedish tennis player

Mats Arne Olof Wilander is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. From 1982 to 1988, he won seven major singles titles, and one major men's doubles title. His breakthrough came suddenly and unexpectedly when he won the 1982 French Open at the age of 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefan Edberg</span> Swedish tennis player

Stefan Bengt Edberg is a Swedish former professional tennis player. A major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles between 1985 and 1996. He is one of only two men in the Open Era to have been ranked world No. 1 in both singles and doubles. He also won the Masters Grand Prix and was a part of the Swedish Davis Cup-winning team four times. In addition, he won four Masters Series titles, four Championship Series titles and the unofficial 1984 Olympic tournament, was ranked in the singles top 10 for ten successive years, and ranked nine years in the top 5. After retirement, Edberg began coaching Roger Federer in January 2014, with this partnership ending in December 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Courier</span> American tennis player

James Spencer "Jim" Courier is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He won four major singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He was the youngest man to reach the singles finals of all four majors, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters titles. Since 2005 he has worked as a tennis commentator, notably for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, Nine, and as an analyst for Tennis Channel and Prime Video Sport.

Sergio Tacchini is an Italian fashion designer of sportswear and former professional tennis player. The sportswear firm bearing his name is located in Bellinzago Novarese, Novara, Italy.

Cristiano Caratti is a former ATP Tour tennis player from Italy. He reached the quarterfinals of the 1991 Australian Open and the 1991 Miami Masters.

Stefan Edberg defeated Boris Becker in the final, 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–2 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1988 Wimbledon Championships. Most of the final was played on the third Monday. On the Sunday, Becker and Edberg only managed 22 minutes of constantly interrupted play due to rain, and managed just five games, with Edberg leading 3–2 in the first set. The rest of the final was played the next day

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 WTA Tour</span> Womens tennis circuit

The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2007 tennis season. The calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tier I-IV Events, the Fed Cup and the year-end championships.

The ATP Champions Tour is a men's tennis tour intended for former tennis professionals, who have since retired from mainstream professional tennis touring. The Tour brings together many of the greatest tennis players in history for nostalgic, competitive and entertaining tournaments in cities around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit edition

The 1988 Nabisco Grand Prix was the only men's tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four grand slam tournaments, three World Championship Tennis tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 ATP Tour</span> Mens tennis circuit

The 1990 IBM ATP Tour was the first season of the ATP Tour, the newly formed tennis circuit which came in to replace the Grand Prix and WCT tournaments. It was the elite tour for professional tennis organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. In 1990 the IBM ATP Tour included the four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Tour World Championships, the ATP Championship Series, Single-Week, the ATP Championship Series and the ATP World Series. The World Team Cup, Davis Cup and Grand Slam Cup are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Tour.

The 2008 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from 4 November through 9 November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit

The 1985 Nabisco Grand Prix was a professional men's tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of 71 tournaments held in 19 different countries. The tour incorporated the four ITF grand slam tournaments, three World Championship Tennis tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. Total prize money for the circuit was $23 million. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC). In November 1985 the MIPTC sued player–management agencies ProServ and IMG alleging that these firms were holding the tennis game hostage and were 'exerting extensive power over players'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McEnroe career statistics</span>

Former tennis player John McEnroe won a total of 155 ATP titles, 77 in ATP Tour singles, 78 in men's doubles, and 1 in mixed doubles. He won 25 singles titles on the ATP Champions tour. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles. He also won a record eight year end championship titles overall, the Masters championships three times, and the WCT Finals, a record five times. His career singles match record was 875–198 (81.55%). He posted the best single-season match record in the Open Era with win–loss record: 82–3 (96.5%) set in 1984 and has the best carpet court career match winning percentage: 84.18% (411–65) of any player. McEnroe was the second male player to reach 3 consecutive Grand Slams finals in a calendar year in 1984 since Rod Laver reached all four grand slams finals in 1969 in open era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Grand Prix (tennis)</span> Tennis circuit

The 1984 Volvo Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments and two team events.

The 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only women's tennis tournament that was played on indoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour. It was held at the Bali International Convention Centre in Bali, Indonesia from November 3 through November 6, 2011. The 2011 edition was the last to be held in Bali before it relocated to Sofia in 2012. The tournament saw Ana Ivanovic successfully defend her title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 French Open</span> Tennis tournament

The 2012 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 116th edition of the French Open, and took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 27 May until 11 June 2012.

Thomas Högstedt is a Swedish tennis coach and former professional player. He is the former coach of Tommy Haas, Magnus Norman, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Simona Halep, Madison Keys and Johanna Konta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 French Open</span> Tennis tournament

The 2014 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 118th edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 25 May to 8 June. It consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players also took part in singles and doubles events.

This page covers all the important events in the sport of tennis in 2014. It primarily provides the results of notable tournaments throughout the year on both the Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association Tours, the Davis Cup, and the Fed Cup.

The 2014 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament in Singapore from October 17 to October 26, 2014, and was the 44th edition of the singles event and the 39th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and contested by eight singles players and eight doubles teams. It was the Championships of 2014 WTA Tour.

References

  1. "La Grande Sfida". Boscolo Milano. Boscolo Milano. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  2. "New event to visit two italian cities in October". ATP Champions Tour. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. "Ivanišević runs out of racquets, but still beats McEnroe". ATP Champions Tour. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  4. "Ivanišević, Chang talk coaching after Goran takes title". ATP Champions Tour. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  5. "McEnroe visits Ferrari ahead of Wilander clash". Verona: ATP Champions Tour. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. "2015 Results/Schedule". ATP Champions Tour. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  7. "2016 Results/Schedule". ATP Champions Tour. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  8. "McEnroe headlines opening night in Bari". ATP Champions Tour. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  9. "Enqvist takes title in Bari". Bari: ATP Champions Tour. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2017.