By Sean Bradley
(March 24, 2011) Last night, some of the top players currently competing at the Sony Ericsson open in Miami took the soccer field with the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers. During the 40 minute match, titled the “Hope Match for Japan,” the professional soccer team beat out the tennis stars 4-2.
Andy Murray and Marco Baghdatis both scored goals for their team, the ATP World Tour Allstars, but their efforts were not enough to beat the Strikers. Captained by Novak Djokovic, an additional 16 tennis players took to the pitch.
The “Hope Match for Japan” will donate proceeds to the Red Cross’ effort to aid Japan, following their disastrous earthquake and tsunami.
The lineup for the ATP World Tour Allstars is as follows:
Starting:
Novak Djokovic (captain)
Kei Nishikori
Feliciano Lopez
Juan Monaco
Richard Gasquet
Viktor Troicki
Andy Murray
Marcos Baghdatis
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jurgen Melzer
Gasquet's physical aid (goalkeeper)
Substitutes:
Alexandr Dolgopolov
Potito Starace
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo
David Marrero
Fernando Verdasco
Rafael Nadal
David Ferrer