In jeans and a sweater, McIlroy showed off a one-handed backhand, and Sharapova hit his lob wide.

Asked if he was surprised, McIlroy joked: “I’ve won a few off Caroline.”

Wozniacki has been ranked No. 1 for 67 weeks in her career, though she’s currently down to No. 4. McIlroy knows he’ll need to stay on top for “another couple of years” to catch his girlfriend in that stat.

In between taking photos with fans after the match, McIlroy said, “It’s nice to take a little break from golf.” The couple plans to meet up in Miami before he plays a World Golf Championship event there and she heads to Indian Wells, Calif.

McIlroy stopped signing autographs for a moment to listen to Wozniacki’s on-court interview. “He’s 100 percent against Maria,” she told the crowd.

Asked earlier Monday whether she sent him flowers after his win Sunday, Wozniacki said, “Well, I don’t want his head to become too big, so, um, no.”

Sharapova and Wozniacki got into the spirit of the exhibition at times: exchanging smiles after a well-played rally, surrendering a point to make up for a missed call, dancing with fans before the final game.

The second-ranked Sharapova wasn’t conserving energy, though. After breaking back to 4-4 in the second set, she chased down a drop shot and then a lob, throwing her hands up in frustration when her shot ricocheted off the scoreboard.

“He came out, and they started cheering for him, and he was cheering with them,” she said. “He was clearly a bit overwhelmed by it all.”

Marathon officials invited Pena to attend after hearing about how he jogged in the mines while trapped underground. They were surprised to learn Monday that the triathlete wanted to run the race.

Pena was one of the 33 miners whose saga captivated the world when they were trapped for 69 days after an Aug. 5 collapse stranded them nearly a half-mile underground. The 34-year-old Pena, the 12th miner rescued, is also a big Elvis Presley fan who received an invitation to visit Graceland.

Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian star, is running his first NYC Marathon. He was joined at the airport by 2004 New York champion Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa.

Now the network is trying to do just that, and to attract even more viewers, despite the time zone challenges of this year’s event in South Africa, which is six hours ahead of New York and nine hours ahead of Los Angeles.

“The simple math of ratings, if you can take that audience and get them to watch for a longer period of time, it has the same effect as growing the number of viewers,” said Jed Drake, executive producer for ESPN’s World Cup coverage. “We really have targeted our presentation now for a knowledgeable soccer audience.”

The same network that drew criticism for calling 20 matches from U.S. studios four years ago is putting together a staff of 300 people to produce the event in South Africa. ESPN has hired British announcers and plans 65 hours of live studio programming from Johannesburg.

“We have a production plan that we think is up to the level of ambition of this event with a great group of commentators that we’ve assembled, a broadcast operation that is far and away the biggest we’ve ever amassed outside of the U.S.,” Drake said.

The ESPN compound at the International Broadcast Center in Johannesburg is massive, dwarfing that of any other operation. A large bullpen is filled with editors and writers, with more than a dozen big-screen TVs on the walls. There are four editing suites and three control rooms, the largest of which has 10 high-definition screens that show everything ESPN is doing.

“You look at the footprint of this facility and we are, shall we say, quite large,” Drake said. “It’s just part of the commitment. You only do something at this level with the best equipment and the best people.”

ESPN also has an expansive set overlooking the Soccer City stadium, where “SportsCenter” will be broadcast live, and an open-air patio that can be the site for live reports for “Good Morning America” or one of ABC’s other shows. ESPN and ABC are owned by The Walt Disney Co.

Former national team captain John Harkes, who will work as a commentator on all of the U.S. team’s games, said Americans have learned to watch soccer differently in recent years, and that knowledge will influence how they follow this World Cup.

“It’s not that we’re just going to see the games,” he said of soccer fans in the U.S. “Now I’m going to see the games and I understand what’s happening, and why that player’s there.”

The real test of America’s passion for soccer begins at 10 a.m. EDT this Friday, when the World Cup will kick off with South Africa playing Mexico live from Johannesburg.

Much of ESPN’s unprecedented coverage in the United States will come at times when TV viewers are typically at work, asleep or otherwise away from their sets. Most games are scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. on the East Coast — that’s 4:30 a.m., 7 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. out West.

ESPN’s gamble relies on more than games, saturating its various platforms with coverage that might drive more people to watch morning matches or pique their interest if they miss them. The network is planning more than 230 hours of live original programming. A little more than half will be games, but the rest — at more viewer-friendly hours — will be commentary and other material.

In the end, the hope is this nation will love the game.

<p>”That was the revelation to a lot of people in 2006 when we had the biggest audience ever,” said Rob Hunter, ESPN’s vice president for digital technology. “I will be surprised if we don’t have even more people this year say, ‘Wow, those guys can play. They can really play.’”</p>

<p>Of course, the country has been slow to embrace soccer despite the presence of the World Cup on U.S. soil in 1994 or the signing of David Beckham with the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS.</p>

<p>All games will also be re-aired in prime time on ESPN Classic. And then there’s all the planned radio, online and mobile coverage.</p>

<p>Research by Nielsen found that 23 percent of American fans planned to keep up with the tournament with their mobile phone — especially if they can’t watch the games live on TV.</p>

<p>Nine games will be broadcast on a weekend afternoon in the Eastern time zone, a more traditional sports-watching time; that includes England-United States on June 12 and the final. And all the matches will be on ESPN Mobile and most on ESPN3.com.</p>

<p>In an era when the TV ratings for many American sporting events can fluctuate widely depending on who’s playing and how much drama they’re ensnared in, the World Cup likely won’t be any different. A deep run by the U.S. team would naturally pull in viewers.</p>

<p>”The games will determine what the real story is,” Hunter said. “Our viewership in the U.S. will really be a function of the games. We know we’re creating a great platform. Our coverage plans for this World Cup are extraordinary. If the games themselves match the coverage plan, the audience results will be outstanding.”</p>

<p>——</p>

<p>AP Sports Writer Nancy Armour in Johannesburg contributed to this story.</p>

“Most 16-year-olds medal at their first Olympics,” she joked. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to keep up that U.S. trend. But, hopefully, I’ll be able to make up for it when I get to come back I hope for the next Olympics.”

Flatt was fifth and Nagasu was sixth coming into the finale. The top three skaters needed to make major mistakes for either one to make off with a medal. Nagasu finished more than 12 points out of a bronze.

The 17-year-old Flatt lost points on both her triple flips when she didn’t complete the rotation. She said “they felt just fine to me” and acknowledged she was a bit surprised by her score.

Asked if that made her Olympic experience somewhat less fun, Flatt said, “A little bit.”

“I wish that I could’ve gotten a better score, but you make do and just continue to improve,” she said, then added with a laugh, “Got to make sure I fix those flips.”

Any benefits from competing in Vancouver might be seen as early as next month, when the world championships are held in Turin, Italy. No U.S. woman has been on the world championship podium since 2006. American women have won seven Olympic gold medals overall, including three of the last five coming into Vancouver. The only other time since 1952 that they didn’t medal was 1964, which was three years after the entire U.S. team was killed in a plane crash.

Nagasu noted that this year’s gold and silver medalists are both 19 — only a bit younger than she will be at the 2014 Sochi Games. Kim Yu-na and Mao Asada each came into the Olympics with significant international seasoning.

“At 16 you don’t have the experience and the maturity that they skate with,” Nagasu said. “Hopefully, by that time I’ll be able to get that.”