2018 Australian Open
As originally written by Tony Miller:
ESPN, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel split coverage of the year's first major, which kicks off on Sunday evening for U.S. viewers.
Broadcast Schedule
Evening (U.S.) Day (Aus.) [ESPN], ESPN2 Tennis Channel Rounds
Sunday 1/14 Monday......7 p.m.-7 a.m. First
Monday 1/15 Tuesday.....9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. First
Tuesday 1/16 Wednesday...9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. Second
Wednesday 1/17 Thursday....9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. Second
Thursday 1/18 Friday......11 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-11 p.m. Third
Friday 1/19 Saturday....9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. Third
Saturday 1/20 Sunday......9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. Fourth
Sunday 1/21 Monday......9 p.m.-7 a.m. 7-9 p.m. Fourth
Monday 1/22 Tuesday.....9p-2a, 3-6a 7-9 p.m. Quarters
Tuesday 1/23 Wednesday...9p-2a, 3:30-6a 7-9 p.m. Quarters
Wednesday 1/24 Thursday....10p-2a,[3:30-6a] 7-9 p.m. Women's semis (evening); men's semi (3:30)
Thursday 1/25 Friday.....[3:30-6 a.m.] 11 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Women's doubles final (12); men's semi (3:30)
Friday 1/26 Saturday...[3:30-5:30 a.m.] 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Juniors finals (9); women's final (3:30)...
5:30-7:30 a.m. ...followed by men's doubles final
Saturday 1/27 Sunday.....[3:30-6:30 a.m.] 12-1:30 a.m. Mixed doubles final (12); men's final (3:30)
ESPN is planning 109.5 hours of coverage on linear TV - that's down 1.5 hours from last year, but the cuts (9:30-10p on the second Wednesday, 3-3:30a on the two singles finals days) come at points where there's no singles action in progress.
Of those 109.5 hours, 99.5 are on ESPN2 and 10 are on ESPN; last year, the figures were 100 and 11. ESPN3 has 1,120 hours of world feed coverage from all 16 courts, in addition to 102 hours in Spanish. The two singles title tilts will be live on ESPN Deportes.
Tennis Channel shows 34 hours of coverage, adding a four-hour window for the juniors finals (Friday evening here, Saturday afternoon there). They also have all three tour-level doubles finals and a couple of doubles matches to be announced. Last year they had 30.5 hours.
TC also airs Tennis Channel Live at the Australian Open from 6-7 p.m. EST on each of the first 11 days before moving to 10 p.m. on Thursday the 25th and 11 p.m. Sunday the 28th. Brett Haber hosts Down Under, joined by Martina Navratilova, Jim Courier and Jon Wertheim. Steve Weismann, Tracy Austin, Leif Shiras and Mark Knowles contribute from the channel's Los Angeles studios.
Commentators
Tennis Channel's lead announcer is Bill Macatee with Haber handling play-by-play on select matches. Mary Carillo presents special features. Analysts include Courier, Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport, Justin Gimelstob, and Paul Annacone with Wertheim billed as on-site reporter.
Chris McKendry returns as host for ESPN with Chris Fowler holding the lead play-by-play role. (If you're scoring at home, Fowler signed off of college football duty in Atlanta at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, 138 1/3 hours before the tournament starts.) Longtime match-callers Cliff Drysdale and Patrick McEnroe return as well; Jason Goodall also returns after calling play-by-play for 19 matches at the US Open last fall.
The analyst roster includes jacks-of-all-trades Pam Shriver and Darren Cahill. Cahill, the coach of women's world no. 1 Simona Halep, worked only men's matches last season; he's not explicitly listed as a men's-only analyst in the ESPN release, although I expect that to happen.
Chrissie Evert, Brad Gilbert, John McEnroe, Patrick Moratoglou and Rennae Stubbs also return to the analyst roster, augmented by Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who is still rehabbing after her knee injury at Wimbledon.
Mary Joe Fernandez is not on ESPN's release, although she's still "ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez" on the list of players that Jason Goodall coached.
Sam Gore hosts the six-screen ESPN Interactive mosaic on DirecTV for the tournament's first week. Mardy Fish and Luke Jensen join him in that endeavor.
Day 1
7:00 - Studio open - Chris McKendry, Darren Cahill, Chrissie Evert, John McEnroe
7:19 - Match #1 - Stephens/Zhang (MCA) - Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver
8:08 - Tournament update - McKendry, Brad Gilbert
8:24 - Match #2 - Ostapenko/Schiavone (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert - end #1 at 8:26
8:27 - Stephens/Zhang
8:31 - Goerges/Kenin update
8:50 - Match #3 - V.Williams/Bencic (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert
8:51 - Stephens/Zhang - end #2 at 9:09
9:12 - V.Williams/Bencic
Rain delay, followed by roof getting stuck, from 9:21-9:43
9:31-9:36 studio segment with McKendry, Gilbert, Cahill and John McEnroe
10:09 - Match #4 - Vandeweghe/Babos (HA) - Fowler, Evert
10:16 - V.Williams/Bencic - end #3 at 10:41
10:50 - Studio - McKendry, Shriver
10:52 - Vandeweghe/Babos - end #4 at 11:02
11:06 - Studio - McKendry/Shriver
11:08 - Match #5 - Isner/Ebden (HA) - Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe
11:12 - Match #6 - Anderson/Edmund (C3) - end #5 at 11:12
11:13 - Isner/Ebden
11:24 - Dimitrov/Novak (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, Brad Gilbert
11:44 - Isner/Ebden - end #5 at 11:46
11:48 - Studio - McKendry, Shriver
11:49 - Match #7 - Shapovalov/Tsitsipas - Luke Jensen, Cahill - end #6 at 12:25
12:30 - Studio - McKendry, P. McEnroe, Evert
12:41 - Dimitrov/Novak - end #7 at 12:46
12:47 - Match #8 - Cilic/Pospisil (HA) - Drysdale, Gilbert
12:56 - Match #9 - Pavlyuchenkova/Kozlova (C8) - Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands - end #8 at 12:57
12:58 - Match #10 - Stosur/Puig (MCA) - Shriver, Mattek-Sands
1:12 - Match #11 - Sock/Sugita (C2) - Jason Goodall, Mark Woodforde
1:30 - Cilic/Pospisil
1:33 - Stosur/Puig
1:47 - Split-screen with Sock/Sugita
1:51 - Sock/Sugita
1:57 - Cilic/Pospisil
2:18 - Sock/Sugita
2:21 - Cilic/Pospisil
2:28 - Stosur/Puig - end #9 at 2:29
2:31 - Cilic/Pospisil - end #10 at 2:41
2:35 - Split-screen with Sock/Sugita
2:46 - "Studio" update - Drysdale, Gilbert
2:48 - Sock/Sugita
3:06 - Primetime open - Patrick McEnroe
3:08 - Sock/Sugita - end #11 at 3:17
3:18 - Match #12 - Nadal/Estrella Burgos (RLA) - Fowler, J. McEnroe
3:35 - Match #13 - Kyrgios/Dutra Silva (HA) - P. McEnroe, Cahill
3:39 - Match #14 - Wozniacki/Buzarnescu (MCA) - Shriver, Mattek-Sands
3:46 - Kyrgios/Dutra Silva
3:59 - Nadal/Estrella Burgos
4:22 - Wozniacki/Buzarnescu - end #12 at 4:24
4:29 - Kyrgios/Dutra Silva - end #13 at 4:35
4:38 - Nadal/Estrella Burgos - end #14 at 4:50
4:59 - "Studio" update with Goodall and Gilbert
5:05 - Match #15 - Tsonga/King (RLA) - Goodall, Gilbert
5:41 - Taped studio segment - McKendry and Cahill with Dennis Shapovalov
5:49 - Tsonga/King
6:04 - Update (Pouille/Bemelmans)
6:05 - Match #16 - Ruud/Halys (19) - Goodall, Gilbert
6:09 - Tsonga/King
6:11 - Ruud/Halys - end #15 at 6:24
6:16 - Update (Gavrilova/Falconi)
6:26 - Update (Sousa/Brown)
6:29 - Tsonga/King - end #16 at 6:45
6:48 - Sign-off
Day 2
For the ESPN2 broadcast... they had 53 matches available as 11 results were already final at the time they signed on.
9:00 - Open - Chris McKendry, Darren Cahill, John McEnroe (in his Clash T-shirt after a luggage ... incident)
9:09 - Match #1 - Sharapova/Maria (MCA) - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert
9:37 - Match #2 - Kerber/Friedsam (HA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands - end #1 9:43
9:43 - Match #3 - Querrey/Lopez (15) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
9:47 - Match #4 - Raonic/Lacko (2) - Luke Jensen, Mark Woodforde
9:54 - Sharapova/Maria
10:01 - Match #5 - Goffin/Bachinger (3) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
10:07 - Match #6 - A.Zverev/Fabbiano (RLA) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
Querrey/Lopez finishes off-camera at 10:07
10:12 - Querrey/Lopez update
10:13 - Raonic/Lacko
10:18 - Sharapova/Maria - end #2 at 10:21
10:22 - Raonic/Lacko - end #3 10:32
10:25 - Zverev/Fabbiano and Raonic/Lacko split-screen with McEnroe and Gilbert calling both matches
10:37 - Patrick McEnroe narrates bumper between commercial breaks
10:39 - Match #7 - Wawrinka/Berankis (HA) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
11:10 - Match #8 - Djokovic/Young (MCA) - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe
11:19 - Zverev/Fabbiano
11:22 - Djokovic/Young
11:28 - Zverev/Fabbiano - end #4 at 11:28
11:29 - Djokovic/Young
Goffin/Bachinger finishes off-camera at 11:46
11:56 - Wawrinka/Berankis and Goffin/Bachinger updates
12:11 - Match #9 - Keys/Wang ( - Cliff Drysdale, Pam Shriver
12:12 - Match #10 - Halep/Aiava (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, Pam Shriver
12:13 - Keys/Wang
12:20 - Keys/Wang and Halep/Aiava split-screen - Keys/Wang end #5 at 12:23
12:24 - Match #11 - Bouchard/Dodin (2) - Cliff Drysdale, Pam Shriver - end #6 at 12:28
12:29 - Halep/Aiava
12:32 - Wawrinka/Berankis
12:37 - Halep/Aiava
12:41 - Wawrinka/Berankis
12:43 - Halep/Aiava
12:45 - Wawrinka/Berankis - end #7 at 12:51
12:51 - Halep/Aiava
12:55 - Halep/Aiava and Djokovic/Young split screen
1:01 - Djokovic/Young - end #8 at 1:04
1:09 - Halep/Aiava
1:22 - Match #12 - Kudla/Johnson (15) - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe - end #9 at 1:23
1:24 - Halep/Aiava - end #10 at 1:38
1:46 - Studio update - Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall, Brad Gilbert, joined by Alexander Zverev for one segment
2:29 - Match #13 - Monfils/Munar ( - Patrick McEnroe, Patrick Moratoglou
2:38 - Match #14 - Petkovic/Kvitova (2) - Luke Jensen, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
2:40 - Monfils/Munar - end #11 at 2:43
2:44 - Match #15 - Kokkinakis/Medvedev (3) - Patrick McEnroe, Patrick Moratoglou
2:59 - Patrick McEnroe bumper between commercials
3:02 - Kvitova/Petkovic
3:15 - Match #16 - Federer/Bedene (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Darren Cahill, Chris McKendry
Kokkinakis/Medvedev ends off-camera at 3:35
Kvitova/Petkovic ends off-camera at 3:36
3:37 - Kvitova/Petkovic update
3:52 - Match #17 - Muguruza/Ponchet (MCA) - Cliff Drysdale, Pam Shriver
3:56 - Federer/Bedene
4:08 - Match #18 - Berdych/de Minaur (HA) - Patrick McEnroe, Patrick Moratoglou
4:11 - Federer/Bedene
4:22 - Wawrinka/Berankis and Djokovic/Young updates (Patrick McEnroe hosting)
4:29 - Federer/Bedene
4:34 - Muguruza/Ponchet - end #12 at 4:36
4:38 - Federer/Bedene - end #13 at 4:54
5:04 - Match #19 - del Potro/Tiafoe (MCA) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
5:08 - Berdych/de Minaur - end #14 at 5:09
5:10 - del Potro/Tiafoe
5:59 - Match #20 - Thiem/Pella (C2) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
6:01 - del Potro/Tiafoe
6:04 - Thiem/Pella - end #15 at 6:07
6:10 - del Potro/Tiafoe - end #16 at 7:14
Day 3
SPN2 didn't sign on until 9:25 because Louisville-Notre Dame went to double overtime. By that point, six of the 32 singles matches were over.
(Seven of the 34 doubles matches were also over, although doubles tennis gets less airtime than the field half of track and field anyway.)
9:25 - Tournament update - Chris McKendry
9:26 - Match #1 - Svitolina/Siniakova (RLA) - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert - end #1 at 9:29
9:30 - Match #2 - Tsonga/Shapovalov (MCA) - Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe
9:38 - Studio open - Chris McKendry, Darren Cahill, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
9:57 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
10:03 - Match #3 - Bencic/Kumkhum (HA) - Pam Shriver, Patrick Moratoglou - end #2 at 10:04
10:05 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
10:13 - Match #4 - Wozniacki/Fett (RLA) - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert
10:14 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
10:22 - Wozniacki/Fett
10:44 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
10:50 - Wozniacki/Fett
11:11 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
11:21 - Muller/Jaziri update
11:41 - Svitolina/Siniakova update
11:43 - Wozniacki/Fett
12:17 - Tsonga/Shapovalov
12:20 - Wozniacki/Fett - end #3 at 12:21
12:22 - Tsonga/Shapovalov - end #4 at 12:37
12:41 - Match #5 - Nadal/Mayer (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, Darren Cahill
1:30 - Match #6 - Ostapenko/Duan (MCA) - Chris McKendry, Pam Shriver
1:39 - Nadal/Mayer
1:59 - Match #7 - Karlovic/Sugita (C8) - Cliff Drysdale, Darren Cahill - end #4 at 2:00
2:01 - Nadal/Mayer
2:06 - Ostapenko/Duan
2:09 - Nadal/Mayer
2:15 - Drysdale bumper to promote primetime
2:33 - Nadal/Mayer
2:40 - Ostapenko/Duan
2:42 - Nadal/Mayer
2:44 - Ostapenko/Duan - end #5 at 2:45
2:46 - Nadal/Mayer - end #6 at 3:21
2:49 - Bertens/Gibbs update
3:26 - Match #8 - Kyrgios/Troicki (HA) - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe
3:54 - Match #9 - Goerges/Cornet (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
4:08 - Kyrgios/Troicki
4:11 - Goerges/Cornet
4:13 - Kyrgios/Troicki
4:23 - Match #10 - Troicki/McDonald (RLA) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
4:42 - Baghdatis/Rublev update
4:54 - Kyrgios/Troicki
4:55 - Goerges/Cornet - end #7 at 4:55:55 (which is 5:55:55 where JP lives in New Brunswick ... sorry, I'm a dork.)
4:56 - Kyrgios/Troicki - end #8 at 5:15
5:21 - Dimitrov/McDonald
5:33 - Match #11 - Baghdatis/Rublev (2) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
5:35 - Dimitrov/McDonald
6:01 - Dolgopolov/Ebden (MCA) - Chris Fowler, Darren Cahill - initially split-screen with Baghdatis/Rublev until latter match ends (#9) at 6:02
6:07 - Dimitrov/McDonald
6:23 - Tournament update with McEnroe and Gilbert
6:25 - Dimitrov/McDonald
6:45 - Dolgopolov/Ebden
6:46 - Dimitrov/McDonald
6:51 - Dolgopolov/Ebden split screen
Dolgopolov/Ebden ends off camera at 7:22
7:25 - Dolgopolov/Ebden update
7:40 - Dimitrov/McDonald ends (#10)
ESPN2 signed off at 7:45, which was before the last match on Laver (Gavrilova/Mertens) started. That match didn't end until 9:51 a.m. EST.
Day 4
Three singles matches (out of 32) were complete when ESPN signed on.
9:00 - Open - Chris McKendry, Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
9:08 - Match #1 - Querrey/Fucsovics (3) - Jason Goodall, Darren Cahill
9:22 - Match #2 - Muguruza/Hsieh (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert
9:29 - Match #3 - Garcia/Vondrousova (HA) - Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert
9:31 - Muguruza/Hsieh
9:38 - Garcia/Vondrousova - emd #1 at 9:50
9:41 - Querrey/Fucsovics
9:44 - Match #4 - Thiem/Kudla (MCA) - Jason Goodall, Darren Cahill
9:49 - Querrey/Fucsovics - end #2 at 9:53
9:53 - Muguruza/Hsieh
10:03 - Studio - McKendry and Patrick McEnroe with Maria Sharapova
10:15 - Thiem/Kudla
10:27 - Muguruza/Hsieh
10:32 - Thiem/Kudla
10:35 - Muguruza/Hsieh
10:39 - Match #5 - Davis/Petkovic (14) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
10:40 - Muguruza/Hsieh - end #3 at 10:55
10:52 - Pliskova/Haddad Maia update
Davis/Petkovic ends off-camera at 10:55
10:57 - Thiem/Kudla - end #4 at 11:00
11:07 - Studio - McKendry, Evert
11:12 - Match #6 - Djokovic/Monfils (RLA) - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe
11:33 - Berdych/Garcia Lopez update
11:44 - Safarova/Cirstea update
11:55 - Kerber/Vekic update
11:56 - del Potro/Khachanov update
12:04 - Match #7 - Kerber/Vekic (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
12:06 - Djokovic/Monfils
12:31 - Kerber/Vekic - end #5 at 12:33
12:35 - Djokovic/Monfils
12:46 - Match #8 - del Potro/Khachanov (HA) - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert
1:07 - Djokovic/Monfils
1:16 - Match #9 - Keys/Alexandrova (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
1:25 - Djokovic/Monfils
1:34 - Keys/Alexandrova - end #6 at 1:35
1:36 - Djokovic/Monfils - end #7 at 1:59
2:02 - del Potro/Khachanov
2:11 - Tournament update - Patrick McEnroe
2:16 - Match #10 - Goffin/Benneteau (2) - Chris Bowers, Mark Woodforde
2:28 - del Potro/Khachanov update
2:34 - Goffin/Benneteau - this time with McEnroe and Gilbert - end #8 at 2:46
2:47 - del Potro/Khachanov - end #9 at 2:56
3:01 - Tournament update - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert
3:07 - Match #11 - Halep/Bouchard (MCA) - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert
3:47 - Match #12 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk (HA) - Chris McKendry, Cliff Drysdale
3:55 - Match #13 - Barty/Giorgi (RLA) - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert
3:59 - Gasquet/Sonego update
4:06 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk
4:12 - Halep/Bouchard - end #10 at 4:16
4:24 - Tournament update - Jason Goodall, Chrissie Evert
4:26 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk
4:40 - Wawrinka/Sandgren update
4:47 - Barty/Giorgi
4:51 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk
5:02 - Match #14 - Wawrinka/Sandgren (MCA) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
5:04 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk
5:07 - Update involving Groth/Hewitt doubles match
5:13 - Wawrinka/Sandgren update (Fowler)
5:13 - Barty/Giorgi
5:14 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk
5:16 - Barty/Giorgi - end #11 at 5:16
5:16 - A.Zverev/Gojowczyk - end #12 at 5:17
5:21 - Wawrinka/Sandgren
5:36 - Federer/Struff (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
5:53 - Wawrinka/Sandgren
5:54 - Federer/Struff
5:57 - Wawrinka/Sandgren and Federer/Struff split-screen
At 5:58:30: Gilbert: "Look, one of those giant bugs got in the booth!" Fowler: "Yes, a moth got into the bunker. We'll get it taken care of."
6:01 - Federer/Struff
6:03 - Wawrinka/Sandgren - end #13 at 6:35
6:05 - Federer/Struff - end #14 at 7:32
6:11 - Marterer/Verdasco update
7:40 - Sign-off
Day 5
Four of the 16 singles matches were over when ESPN2 signed on; the other 12 all appeared on TV at some point, although one (Suarez Navarro/Kanepi) was only as an update.
10:59 - Open - Chris McKendry, Darren Cahill, Patrick McEnroe
11:06 - Match #1 - Carreno Busta/Muller (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Chrissie Evert
11:16 - Match #2 - Dimitrov/Rublev (RLA) - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe
11:21 - Match #3 - Mertens/Cornet (HA) - Goodall, Gilbert
11:24 - Dimitrov/Rublev
Mertens/Cornet ends off-camera at 11:39
11:43 - Mertens/Cornet update
11:46 - Carreno Busta/Muller - end #1 at 12:03
12:04 - Dimitrov/Rublev
1:06 - Match #4 - Rybarikova/Bondarenko (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Chrissie Evert
1:09 - Dimitrov/Rublev and Rybarikova/Bondarenko split-screen
1:12 - Dimitrov/Rublev
1:14 - Match #5 - Schwartzman/Dolgopolov (3) - Jason Goodall, Brad Gilbert
1:16 - Match #6 - Seppi/Karlovic (HA) - Jason Goodall, Brad Gilbert
1:23 - Fowler voices bumper
1:26 - Dimitrov/Rublev
1:56 - Rybarikova/Bondarenko
1:59 - Dimitrov/Rublev and Rybarikova/Bondarenko split-screen
2:01 - Rybarikova/Bondarenko
2:02 - Dimitrov/Rublev - end #2 at 2:08
2:18 - Seppi/Karlovic and Schwartzman/Dolgopolov updates
2:19 - Rybarikova/Bondarenko
2:20 - Schwartzman/Dolgopolov
2:25 - Schwartzman/Dolgopolov and Rybarikova/Bondarenko split-screen
2:26 - Rybarikova/Bondarenko - end #3 at 2:27
2:33 - Goodall and Gilbert voice bumper
2:36 - Seppi/Karlovic
2:57 - Tournament update - Chris McKendry, Pam Shriver
Dolgopolov/Schwartzman ends off-camera at 3:03
3:07 - Tsonga/Kyrgios update as players arrive on court
3:08 - Panel discussion (Fowler and Darren Cahill in Laver; Cliff Drysdale and Patrick McEnroe in MCA)
3:14 - Match #7 - Nadal/Dzumhur (MCA) - Cliff Drysdale, Patrick McEnroe
3:25 - Match #8 - Tsonga/Kyrgios (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Darren Cahill
3:26 - Nadal/Dzumhur
3:30 - Seppi/Karlovic
3:32 - Nadal/Dzumhur
3:37 - Tsonga/Kyrgios
3:48 - Seppi/Karlovic - end #4 at 3:51
3:52 - Tsonga/Kyrgios
4:06 - Nadal/Dzumhur
Kanepi/Suarez Navarro ends off-camera at 4:12
4:19 - Nadal/Dzumhur and Tsonga/Kyrgios split-screen
4:22 - Kanepi/Suarez Navarro update
4:23 - Tsonga/Kyrgios
4:37 - Nadal/Dzumhur
4:57 - Match #9 - Cilic/Harrison (HA) - Jason Goodall, Brad Gilbert
5:00 - Nadal/Dzumhur - end #5 at 5:05
5:06 - Cilic/Harrison
5:10 - Tsonga/Kyrgios
5:31 - Tournament update with Chris Fowler
5:46 - Cilic/Harrison
5:50 - Tsonga/Kyrgios
5:51 - Match #10 - Ostapenko/Kontaveit (MCA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
6:02 - Tsonga/Kyrgios - end #6 at 6:32
6:21 - Cilic/Harrison update
6:38 - Cilic/Harrison - end #7 at 6:44
6:49 - Match #11 - Wozniacki/Bertens (RLA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
7:07 - Ostapenko/Kontaveit - end #8 at 7:17
7:18 - Wozniacki/Bertens - end #9 at 8:18
8:26 - Sign-off
Day 6
At the time ESPN signed on, one of the 16 singles matches was already over.
ESPN came on the air as the world no. 1, Simona Halep, was being taken to the limit (15-13 in the third set) by an American, Lauren Davis. Out of the first two hours of match coverage, more than 90 percent was the Halep/Davis match (or commercials during that match) -- the exceptions were a Pliskova/Safarova tiebreaker early in the Halep/Davis third set and a four-minute medical timeout in the Halep/Davis match.
By the time the Halep/Davis match had ended, two additional matches -- Pliskova/Safarova and Garcia/Sasnovich -- were over.
ESPN did not air any of the Strycova/Pera, Fucsovics/Kicker or Radwanska/Hsieh matches -- the latter ran past ESPN's coverage, ending at 7:36 a.m. EST.
9:05 - Sign-on (delayed by St. Bonaventure/Davidson MBB) - Chris McKendry, Pam Shriver - update including final result of Keys/Bogdan.
9:07 - Match #1 - Halep/Davis (MCA) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
9:25 - Match #2 - Ka.Pliskova/Safarova (MCA) - Jason Goodall, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
9:28 - Halep/Davis
9:30 - Ka.Pliskova/Safarova
9:33 - Halep/Davis
10:20 - Pliskova/Safarova - end #1 at 10:20 (during medical timeout in Halep/Davis)
10:21 - Studio - McKendry and Shriver with Madison Keys (medical timeout continues)
10:24 - Halep/Davis (as it resumes) - end #2 at 10:58
11:07 - McKendry/Shriver bumper
11:12 - Studio - Chris McKendry, Pam Shriver, Chrissie Evert
11:26 - Match #3 - A.Zverev/Chung (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
11:28 - Match #4 - Thiem/Mannarino (MCA) - Cliff Drysdale, Patrick McEnroe
11:31 - A.Zverev/Chung
11:47 - Studio - McKendry and Shriver with Lauren Davis
11:53 - A.Zverev/Chung
12:06 - Thiem/Mannarino
12:09 - A.Zverev/Chung
12:17 - Match #5 - Sandgren/Marterer (2) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
12:29 - Fognini/Benneteau update bumper (HA) with Jason Goodall, Mark Woodforde
12:33 - A.Zverev/Chung
12:37 - Thiem/Mannarino update
12:48 - Thiem/Mannarino - end #3 at 12:50
12:51 - A.Zverev/Chung
12:57 - Fognini/Benneteau update
12:58 - Sandgren/Marterer - end #4 at 1:18
1:20 - Studio - McKendry and Shriver with Halep
1:27 - Patrick McEnroe interviews Tennys Sandgren
1:31 - A.Zverev/Chung
1:39 - Match #6 - Barty/Osaka (MCA) - Jason Goodall, Pam Shriver
If you're following along on the graphic, this match was scheduled to follow Zverev/Chung on Laver; it was moved due to the length of the first two matches and because MCA was open. If the match had stayed on Laver, it wouldn't have begun until about 3 a.m. EST and the entire day would have been prolonged by about 90 minutes.
2:05 - McKendry and Cahill report from a footbridge where people have gathered to watch an upcoming Federer practice
2:07 - Match #7 - Fognini/Benneteau (HA) - Jason Goodall, Pam Shriver - end #5 at 2:12
2:13 - A.Zverev/Chung
2:20 - Barty/Osaka
2:22 - A.Zverev/Chung
2:30 - Barty/Osaka
2:31 - A.Zverev/Chung
2:35 - Barty/Osaka - end #6 at 2:35
2:36 - A.Zverev/Chung - end #7 at 2:41
2:48 - McKendry reports from Federer's actual practice
2:50 - Match #8 - Del Potro/Berdych (HA) - Jason Goodall, Darren Cahill
3:15 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas update
3:27 - Tournament update - Chris McKendry
3:28 - Match #9 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas (MCA) - Chris Fowler, Brad Gilbert
3:39 - Match #10 - Kerber/Sharapova (RLA) - Patrick McEnroe, Chrissie Evert
3:53 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas update
4:09 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas
4:11 - Del Potro/Berdych update
4:24 - Kerber/Sharapova - end #8 at 4:44
4:52 - Del Potro/Berdych - end #9 at 4:52
4:54 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas
4:55 - Federer/Gasquet update as players arrive on court
5:12 - Match #11 - Federer/Gasquet (RLA) - Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe
5:33 - Djokovic/Ramos-Vinolas - end #10 at 5:36
5:46 - Federer/Gasquet - end #11 at 7:05
7:16 - Sign-off
Day 7
4 men's singles matches (from 16 to 12 - top half)
4 women's singles matches (from 16 to 12 - bottom half)
3 men's doubles matches (from 16* to 12 - bottom half)
4 women's doubles matches (from 16 to 12 - second and third quarters)
9 mixed doubles matches (from 25 to 16 - all over the place finishing the first round)
3 legends exhibitions
48 juniors matches
*Men's doubles was supposed to go from 16 to 12, but one of the pairs withdrew yesterday -- their match was third on court 3 on the original schedule. In related news, Court 3 has one fewer match than Hisense, Court 2 and Court 8.
9:00 - Studio - Chris McKendry, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Darren Cahill
9:13 - Match #1 - Cilic/Carreno Busta (MCA) - Cliff Drysdale, Brad Gilbert
9:27 - Match #2 - Kontaveit/Suarez Navarro (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert - end #1 at 9:31
9:32 - Cilic/Carreno Busta
9:49 - Match #3 - Wozniacki/Rybarikova (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert
10:14 - Cilic/Carreno Busta
10:17 - Wozniacki/Rybarikova
10:39 - Tournament update - Fowler
10:52 - Cilic/Carreno Busta
10:58 - Drysdale voices Bryan Brothers update
11:01 - Wozniacki/Rybarikova - end #2 at 11:03
11:04 - Cilic/Carreno Busta
11:22 - Nadal/Schwartzman update
11:26 - Match #4 - Nadal/Schwartzman (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Darren Cahill
11:41 - Fowler voices update involving Lleyton Hewitt's doubles team
11:50 - McKendry and Shriver report from the practice courts about Federer and Djokovic
11:52 - Nadal/Schwartzman
11:58 - Cilic/Carreno Busta
12:02 - Nadal/Schwartzman
12:07 - Cilic/Carreno Busta - end #3 at 12:13
12:18 - Fowler voices tournament update bumper
12:20 - Nadal/Schwartzman
12:30 - Studio - McKendry and Shriver with Caroline Wozniacki
12:34 - Nadal/Schwartzman
1:22 - Match #5 - Martic/Mertens (MCA) - Patrick McEnroe, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
1:24 - Nadal/Schwartzman
1:25 - Match #6 - Edmund/Seppi (HA) - Jason Goodall, Patrick Moratoglou
1:27 - Nadal/Schwartzman
1:29 - Martic/Mertens
1:30 - Nadal/Schwartzman
1:33 - Martic/Mertens
1:38 - Goodall and Moratoglou update on Nick Kyrgios' pre-match warm-up
1:39 - Nadal/Schwartzman
2:02 - Edmund/Seppi
2:04 - Nadal/Schwartzman
2:09 - Edmund/Seppi
2:16 - Martic/Mertens
2:22 - Nadal/Schwartzman
2:34 - Martic/Mertens - end #4 at 2:35
2:36 - Nadal/Schwartzman
2:41 - Edmund/Seppi
2:42 - Nadal/Schwartzman
2:43 - Edmund/Seppi
2:45 - Nadal/Schwartzman
3:03 - Edmund/Seppi
3:04 - Nadal/Schwartzman - end #5 at 3:18
3:25 - Edmund/Seppi - end #6 at 3:27
3:37 - Studio - McKendry, Evert, Cahill
4:03 - Match #7 - Dimitrov/Kyrgios (RLA) - Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe - end #7 at 7:33
7:52 - Match #8 - Svitolina/Allertova (RLA) - Pam Shriver, Bethanie Mattek-Sands - end #8 at 8:53
8:55 - Sign-off
Day 8
4 men's singles matches (12 to 8 -- bottom half)
4 women's singles matches (12 to 8 -- top half -- which will mean Darren Cahill is out of commission for part of the day)4
4 men's doubles matches (12 to 8 -- top half)
4 women's doubles matches (12 to 8 -- first and fourth quarters)
4 mixed doubles matches (16 to 12 -- one match from each quarter)
3 legends matches
32 juniors matches
9:00 - Chris McKendry signs on with update of Madison Keys win
9:01 - Studio - Chris McKendry, Brad Gilbert, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
9:06 - Match #1 - Kerber/Hsieh (RLA) - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert - end #1 at 11:16
9:34 - Berdych/Fognini update (MCA) - Patrick McEnroe, Darren Cahill
10:15 - Berdych/Fognini update (MCA)
Berdych/Fognini ends off-camera 11:02
11:25 - Studio - McKendry, Gilbert, Mattek-Sands, Jason Goodall
11:35 - Match #2 - Federer/Fucsovics (RLA) - Cliff Drysdale, John McEnroe
...resume playback at midnight
Day 9
2 men's singles matches (8 to 6 -- top half)
2 women's singles matches (8 to 6 -- bottom half)
2 men's doubles matches (8 to 6 -- one quarter from each half)
4 women's doubles matches (8 to 4 -- all four quarterfinals)
4 mixed doubles matches (12 to 8 -- one second-round match from each quarter)
4 legends matches
32 juniors matches
9:00 - Studio - Chris McKendry, Chrissie Evert, Darren Cahill
9:10 - Match #1 - Svitolina/Mertens - Cliff Drysdale, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Pam Shriver - start 9:11
10:08 - McKendry and Cahill report from Grigor Dimitrov's practice session.
10:25 - Match ends - Rennae Stubbs handles post-match interview - to commercial 10:30
10:34 - Studio - McKendry, Cahill, Brad Gilbert
10:45 - Match #2 - Dimitrov/Edmund - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe, Jason Goodall - start 10:46
1:36 - Match ends - Jim Courier post-match interview - to commercial 1:46
1:49 - Studio - McKendry, Cahill, Gilbert
2:01 - Sign-off
3:00 - Studio - Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall, Pam Shriver
3:11 - Match #3 - Nadal/Cilic - Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert, Darren Cahill - start 3:14
7:01 - Match ends as Nadal retires down 2-0 in fifth - Jim Courier post-match interview - to commercial 7:12
7:15 - Studio - McKendry, Goodall
7:16 - Taped McKendry interview with Tennys Sandgren
7:28 - Match #4 - Wozniacki/Suarez Navarro - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert, Pam Shriver
7:42 - Nadal post-match press conference
9:37 - Match ends - Sign-off at 9:39 before post-match interview
Day 10
2 men's singles matches (6 to 4 -- bottom half)
2 women's singles matches (6 to 4 -- top half)
2 men's doubles matches (6 to 4 -- one quarter from each half)
2 women's doubles semifinals (4 to 2)
1 mixed doubles quarterfinal (8 to 7)
4 legends matches
24 juniors matches
10 wheelchair matches
9:00 - Sign-on - Chris McKendry, Darren Cahill, Jason Goodall, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
9:10 - Match #1 - Chung/Sandgren - Chris Fowler, Patrick McEnroe, Brad Gilbert - start 9:17
11:41 - Match ends - post-match interview with Jim Courier - to commercial 11:48
11:51 - Studio - McKendry, Goodall, Mattek-Sands
12:02 - Match #2 - Halep/Pliskova - Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert, Pam Shriver - start 12:03
1:14 - Match ends - to commercial 1:16 - post-match interview with Sam Smith on tape
1:23 - Studio - McKendry, Goodall, Mattek-Sands
(Time-fill to 2:00 with the end of the Keys/Kerber match - Shriver and Evert)
3:30 - Fowler open
3:32 - Match #3 - Federer/Berdych - Chris Fowler, John McEnroe, Darren Cahill
5:49 - Match ends - post-match interview with Jim Courier - to commercial 6:00
6:07 - Sign-off
Day 11
Studio - Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Wozniacki/Mertens - Cliff Drysdale, Pam Shriver, Brad Gilbert - Rennae Stubbs post-match
Studio - Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall, Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Halep/Kerber - Chris Fowler, Chrissie Evert, Pam Shriver - Rennae Stubbs post-match
Studio - Chris McKendry, Jason Goodall, Bethanie Mattek-Sands - sign-off 2:54
Cilic/Edmund - Chris Fowler, Darren Cahill, Brad Gilbert - Jim Courier post-match - sign-off 6:09
Day 12
Day 12...
Women's doubles becomes the first of the five biggest events to play the final; after today, the finals will be all that's left of the other four.
Federer/Chung - Chris Fowler, Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe, Darren Cahill - match end 4:37 - post-match Jim Courier
Day 13
Tennis Channel is slated for live coverage of the juniors finals and the men's doubles final. ESPN has the women's final.