Rory Mcilroy took home a win, and it wasn’t on the green.
The top-ranked golfer was the topic of conversation this week after he was summoned onto the tennis court at Madison Square Garden Monday night.
It was during the BNP Paribas Showdown that Mcilroy took on tennis star Maria Sharapova.
It all started after Sharapova danced with a spectator that Mcilroy became the center of attention. Sharapova returned to the court after her dance to find her opponent Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, calling into the crowd looking for a dance partner of her own.
Instead, she spotted her boyfriend 22-year-old Mcilroy and called him down. As he got to the court, she hugged him, handed him her tennis racket and shoved him onto the court to shoot around with Sharapova.
To everyone’s surprise, Sharapova played a point with the Irish golfer and lost it.
It wasn’t long before the three time Grand Slam Champion got her revenge, winning the exhibition match against the World’s former no.1 player, 6-3, 6-4.
Following their match, Roger Federer took on US Open Champion Andy Roddick. Roddick took home the win.
BNP Paribas Showdown is dubbed “Tennis Night In America” and comes as a one-night tennis exhibition held at Madison Square Garden each March since 2008.
The event kicks off tennis season in North America.
It’s officially known as the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup and works as a single elimination tournament with four players competing in one set, no-ad scoring semifinal, with the winners reportedly advancing to a best-of-three set final with regular scoring.
Check it out.
