The BNP Tennis Classic last week celebrated two decades at the very exclusive 42-acre Hurlingham Private Members Club in South London.
Managed by IMG, the global sports, fashion and media company, the BNP Paribas Tennis Classic takes place at the height of the summer tennis season.
In escaping the crowds, the tournament gives spectators the opportunity to combine unforgettable tennis with first-rate dining experiences, and showcases some of the stars of the ATP and WTA Tour as they warm up for Wimbledon. Matches are played on Centre Court, which seats an intimate crowd of 600, and tennis players mingle with guests off court and there’s equally the opportunity to play tennis with the professionals in the PRO-AMs.
Amongst the highlights of this year’s tournament in one of London’s most intimate and breath-taking settings included World No.2, Andy Murray, fresh from lifting the winner’s trophy at the Queen’s Club. In his two-set exhibition match, he narrowly beat the rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori (World No.16) in a tie break.
In the post-match press conference, Murray, who visited the Hurlingham Club for the second time to play in the BNP Paribas Tennis Classic, said: “I thought I did a pretty good job and I wanted to make sure it was a good competitive match. I was pretty concentrated and this was a good workout for me and is another match under my belt.”
Other players who wowed the spectators were namely Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rafael Nadal from Spain and the USA’s Lindsay Davenport. They were joined by a world-class line-up of tennis legends including Pat Cash, Goran Ivanisevic, Henri Leconte, Andrew Castle, Fabrice Santoro and Mansour Bahrami throughout the five-day event.
www.BNPParibasTennisClassic.com
Photos by Eléonore de Bonneval (www.edebonneval.co.uk)
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