Carlos Alcaraz will headline “The Garden Cup,” a tennis exhibition set to take place on December 4 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
This iconic venue, home to the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, will host Alcaraz, the reigning champion of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as he faces off against American Ben Shelton.
Currently, Alcaraz is competing with Spain in the Davis Cup.
The event will also feature a match between two New York-based players who had strong performances at the US Open.
Jessica Pegula, who reached the final but lost to Aryna Sabalenka, and Emma Navarro, who was defeated in the semifinals by the Belarusian Sabalenka.
Carlos Alcaraz has reportedly decided to take a break from tennis this weekend and will not compete for Spain in their Davis Cup clash against Australia.
Spain have already qualified for the finals, which take place in Malaga in November.
First place in Group B is at stake when Spain face Australia, but both nations have already progressed to the next stage of the tournament.
Therefore Alcaraz has been afforded a weekend off, with Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno, Pedro Martinez and Rafa Jodar making up the squad, according to Marca.
It’s a joy to be in the final phase. We take it as something obligatory.
The whole team has been pushing all week,” Alcaraz said.
“Being number one always makes you feel the pressure to do well for your country, especially after not having had good feelings in the last few matches.
“I have tried not to do the bad things that I did on the American tour.
I had been training well, but training is one thing and competition is another.”
