The Garden Cup brings tennis back to Madison Square Garden

On Wednesday night, some of the biggest names in tennis will face off at Madison Square Garden during The Garden Cup.  

Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will square off against American rising star Ben Shelton. On the women’s side, U.S. Open finalist Jessica Pegula and semifinalist Emma Navarro will compete.  

NY1’s Roger Clark caught up with all four players Tuesday night after they attended a Knicks game at the iconic venue.  

“There’s a different type of nerves playing in a place with as much history as The Garden,” Shelton said. “For me, playing in front of big stadiums and big crowds is kind of what I’ve always dreamed about and what I live for. I think I play much better when there’s a big crowd or a big stadium, and it’s just the things that I look forward to the most.”  

Jessica Pegula, a fan favorite and top-ranked American player, also shared her thoughts on the significance of the venue. 

“It’s an iconic place; there’s not many people in their life who can say that they’ve played, especially a tennis match — I mean maybe it’s one thing if, maybe even more possible if you’re a performer or something like that — but for tennis, it’s not really a thing,” Pegula said. “So to be able to say, ‘Oh, I played a tennis match against another American at MSG in New York City,’ you’re like, that’s pretty, you take that forever. So that’s really cool.”

The Garden Cup begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday and marks the first time that tennis has been played at Madison Square Garden since 2018, when Serena and Venus Williams headlined the Tie Break Tens tournament.