McEnroe, Djokovic and Sharapova Are Cover Athletes for Grand Slam Tennis 2

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has announced that the main cover athletes for its upcoming sports simulation Grand Slam Tennis 2 include international super stars like John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova.

The three superstars will be linked to the covers for the global edition of the game while those who pick the game up in France will also get Jo-Wilfred Tsonga while those in Spain will also see Rafael Nadal.

Gamers in Germany will see Sharapova and Federer joined by the legendary Boris Becker.

Grand Slam Tennis 2 comes complete with a new Total Racquet Control system, which is designed to allow gamers to better use the right analog stick in order to deliver complex hits and well placed shots.

The game is the only tennis simulation on the market to include a playable Wimbledon tournament and includes a Become a Champion mode which focuses on good performance in all the major tournaments.

The player line-up mixes current and old Grand Slam winners, with the highlights being Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Maria Sharapova, Serena and Venus Williams.

The developers at EA Sports have also made improvements to the Artificial Intelligence in Grand Slam Tennis 2, making it better able to react to player moves and upgrading the tactical engine that makes if a formidable foe on the court.

For the first time the game also delivers support for the PlayStation Move motion tracking system from Sony, allowing the player better control.

Grand Slam Tennis 2 will be launched on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 home console from Sony and will be launched in North America on February 14 of next year and four days earlier in the rest of the world.

A Japanese version of the game will also be delivered later during 2012.