Tennis' BNP Paribas Showdown Airs Live on ESPN3 from MSG Tonight

ESPN3 will present live the 2015 BNP Paribas Showdown from Madison Square Garden in New York tonight, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET with two intriguing matchups featuring stars of yesterday, today and tomorrow:

Hall of Famers Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini will play, marking the 25th anniversary of their memorable five-set final at the season-ending 1990 WTA Championships played on the same MSG court.
Roger Federer, currently ranked No.2 in the world at age 33, will face Grigor Dimitrov, the 23-year old ranked No. 11 in the world, having reached a career high of No. 8 last August.

In addition, the Federer-Dimitrov match will be seen on ESPN2 at 11 p.m., and both will be available live in Spanish on ESPN Deportes+ on ESPN3.

Chris Fowler will call the matches, working alongside Mary Joe Fernandez with Patrick McEnroe on the sidelines for the women's match; the two analysts will trade places for the men's nightcap.

Seles owns nine Major titles among her 53 career titles and was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009. Sabatini, the 1990 US Open champion, claimed 27 career titles and spent 10 years ranked in the top 10. The two met 14 times in their careers, with Seles winning 11, including the 1990 WTA Final 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Federer's long list of career accomplishments is highlighted by 84 career titles including a record 17 Majors and the year-end ATP World Tour Finals six times. In addition, in 2014 he helped Switzerland to the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas championship. One of the most exciting young talents in the sport, Dimitrov enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2014, taking titles on three different surfaces (has four lifetime) and reaching the semis of a Major for the first time at Wimbledon. The two men have met three times with the Swiss legend winning each, most recently in January in Brisbane, Australia.

The BNP Paribas Showdown from MSG will air live internationally on ESPN's networks in 57 countries throughout Latin America including in Portuguese in Brazil and in English in the Caribbean, plus Canada and the Pacific Rim. In addition, ESPN's broadband players in Latin America & the Caribbean (ESPN Play), in Brazil through WatchESPN and Australia & New Zealand (ESPN3) will also stream live simulcast coverage of this event.

BNP Paribas Showdown

Tickets for the 2015 BNP Paribas Showdown can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office or through any Ticketmaster outlet. New York City hosts the BNP Paribas Showdown for the eighth straight year and once again some of the greatest names in world tennis will sparkle, entertain and captivate an audience that has come to expect the best on this night of nights. World Tennis Day embraces nations from all over the globe in an effort to encourage people to try the great game of tennis and at the same time grow the sport. There are close to 2,000 participating locations in the USA alone; to find a participating location among the 50 states visit www.youthtennis.com. For more information on the various events, including the BNP Paribas Showdown, visit www.WorldTennisDay.com.‎

Upcoming Tennis from ESPN

In addition to the BNP Paribas Showdown from New York on March 10, in the next month #ESPNTennis will present the two biggest events on the tennis calendar outside the four Majors where virtually every top ATP and WTA player competes, as well as the largest women's-only tennis tournament in the world:

BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Multi-court offering daily on ESPN3, March 11-22
21 hours on ESPN TV networks and WatchESPN March 19-22 (beginning with quarterfinals and through the women's and men's championships)
Defending Champions: Novak Djokovic, Flavia Pennetta

Miami Open presented by Itau

Multi-court offering daily on ESPN3, March 25-April 30
25 hours on ESPN TV networks and WatchESPN April 1-5 (beginning with the quarterfinals and through the women's and men's championships)
Defending Champions: Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams

WTA Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C.

Daily coverage April 6-12 on ESPN3
Seven hours on ESPN2 and WatchESPN April 9-12 (beginning in the Round of 16 and through the championship)
Defending Champion: Andrea Petkovic

ESPN - All Four Slams, All In One Place

Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air and provided many memorable moments, but it has never been as important as today, with the US Open joining the lineup in 2009, giving ESPN all four Grand Slam events, something no other U.S. network has ever done, let alone in one year. ESPN has presented the Australian Open since 1984, the French Open since 2002 (plus 1986 - 1993), and Wimbledon since 2003, with exclusivity for live television with all other rights extended in a 12-year agreement starting in 2012. Exclusivity for the US Open in an 11-year agreement begins in 2015. ESPN3 delivers an unmatched multi-screen presentation of the sport's four majors, all ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments, WTA Premier Events and season-ending championships for both tours.

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