Tennis Channel to Present 120-Plus Hours of Live Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series Action
Tennis Channel has announced that it will cover all nine tournaments in this summer’s Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series, starting this Thursday, July 25, and running through Saturday, Aug. 24. The network will show close to 120 live or first-run match hours from the men’s and women’s competitions that make up the five-week hard-court season leading up to the U.S. Open in late August. Including encore matches, Tennis Channel will devote more than 300 hours to the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series this year, which features four men’s ATP and four women’s WTA tournaments, and one combined event.
Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series matches on Tennis Channel in 2013 will consist of singles semifinals, quarterfinals, round of 16 and early rounds, with select doubles coverage. Tournaments in the summer circuit include: Bank of the West Classic (Stanford, Calif. – WTA); BB&T Atlanta Open (Atlanta – ATP); Southern California Open (Carlsbad, Calif. – WTA); Citi Open (Washington, D.C. – ATP); Rogers Cup (Toronto – WTA and Montreal – ATP); Western and Southern Open (Cincinnati, Ohio – WTA/ATP); New Haven Open at Yale (New Haven, Conn. – WTA); Winston-Salem Open (Winston-Salem, N.C. – ATP).
Tennis Channel has televised the series since the tournaments were connected with one another to create a formal pre-US Open season in 2004. In 2008 it began producing all coverage for itself and fellow Emirates Airline US Open Series broadcasters ESPN and CBS Sports, with the exception of the Cincinnati and Canada-based competitions.
Tennis Channel’s 2013 Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series on-air talent roster features a team of fan-favorite former players and well-known sportscasters who regularly appear on the network. Retired stars Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76), Justin Gimelstob (@justingimelstob), Rennae Stubbs (@rennaestubbs) and Mark Knowles will offer analysis during the series, with Knowles handling sideline reporting responsibilities on occasion, as will former doubles champion Corina Morariu. Leif Shiras (@LShirock) also has pro-circuit experience on his resume, and will lend his expertise to the play-by-play side of the booth during the series. Other Tennis Channel announcers this summer include Ted Robinson, Ian Eagle, Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) and Brian Weber (@bwwebber). As he did last year, Hall of Famer Donald Dell will make a special appearance in Tennis Channel’s booth during the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. Dell, a former player, sports agent, promoter, broadcaster and overall facilitator in the sport to this day, co-founded the tournament in 1969.
Tennis Channel will have an anchor desk on the grounds of the following Emirates Airlines U.S. Open events: Bank of the West Classic, Citi Open, Western & Southern Open and New Haven Open at Yale. At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati the network will introduce each day’s coverage with a half-hour morning show from the tournament grounds, similar to its lead-in shows at the US Open and BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Additionally, on Thursday, Aug. 1, Tennis Channel will offer "bounce style" coverage from both Washington, D.C., and Carlsbad, Calif., as the men’s and women’s telecast windows overlap. The Cincinnati morning show and Washington-Carlsbad coverage combination are firsts in the network’s Emirates Airline US Open Series history.
The 2013 Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series Tennis Channel telecast schedule (all times ET) and on-air talent follows:
July 25-27 Bank of the West Classic (WTA)
Thursday, July 25 – 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight (singles round of 16)
Saturday, July 27 – 1 a.m.-3 a.m.; 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (singles quarterfinal, semifinal)
July 26-27 BB&T Atlanta Open (ATP)
Friday, July 26 – 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles quarterfinal)
Saturday, July 27 – 8 p.m.-10 p.m. (singles semifinal)
August 1-3 Southern California Open (WTA)
Thursday, Aug. 1 – 4 p.m.-8 p.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight (singles round of 16)
Saturday, Aug. 3 – 1 a.m.-3 a.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight (singles quarterfinal, semifinal)
August 1-3 Citi Open (ATP)
Thursday, Aug. 1 – 4 p.m.-10 p.m. (singles round of 16)
Friday, Aug. 2 – 1 p.m.-3 p.m.; 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles quarterfinals)
Saturday, Aug. 3 – 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles semifinal)
Talent: Play-by-Play – Haber, Analysts – Gimelstob and Dell
August 5-8 Rogers Cup (ATP/WTA)
Monday, Aug. 5 – 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Tuesday, Aug. 6 – 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Wednesday, Aug. 7 – 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Thursday, Aug. 8 – 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (singles round of 16)
August 12-14 Western & Southern Open (ATP/WTA)
Monday, Aug. 12 – 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Tuesday, Aug. 13 – 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Wednesday, Aug. 14 – 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. (singles early rounds)
Aug. 21-22 New Haven Open at Yale (WTA)
Wednesday, Aug. 21 – 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles round of 16)
Thursday, Aug. 22 – 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (singles quarterfinals)
August 22-23 Winston-Salem Open (ATP)
Thursday, Aug. 22 – 5 p.m.-7 p.m. (singles quarterfinal)
Friday, Aug. 23 – 9 p.m.-11 p.m. (singles semifinal)
