Producer Blog: Cyrus Irani
Hi, I'm Cyrus Irani, Assistant Producer on Grand Slam Tennis. I've been at EA for 3 years and have worked on FIFA 06, Fight Night 3 PS3 and FaceBreaker. I'm extremely excited and proud to be working on EA's first entry into the Tennis world.
I've trained, competed, coached, won and lost in tennis for over 15 years. To me, tennis is the pinnacle of individual competition. The physical toughness and sacrifice needed is like any other sport, but I've always admired and hated the mental toughness needed to be the best. What sets tennis apart is the epic length of the matches and decade rivalries, many of which are represented in our roster of current and legend players. I also love how, much like soccer, tennis is a global sport. With each of the four Grand Slams representing different corners of the globe and the top players' nationalities varying from decade to decade, tennis is definitely celebrated by the world.
Our EA SPORTS team was already on track to create the most authentic and true tennis experience, but with the added exclusivity of John McEnroe and Wimbledon, we're even more confident and proud. To me, and definitely my father's generation, McEnroe IS tennis. His contribution to the sport over 30 years as a competitor, coach, commentator and not to mention, character, has helped tennis grow into its status today. Having Wimbledon on top of that, where McEnroe both played one of the greatest matches of all, 1980 finals, and commentated on the other, 2008 finals, just completes the picture of authenticity and class.
I'm looking forward to talking more tennis with you soon!
Cheers,
Cyrus Irani
