Extensive Coverage from Five Events Leading to French Open
Nadal Seeks to Regain Form on Friendly Surface – Has Won 27 Titles at These Events, only Defends One Title
Tennis’ clay court season has moved to Europe, and starting today ESPN3 has extensive coverage of five events – four ATP with daylong, weeklong action and one WTA – leading to the French Open. This week’s action is the ATP Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, daily on ESPN3 to the championship Sunday, April 19.
Stan Wawrinka is the defending champion of the 1000-point Monte Carlo event, fending off top-ranked Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and eight-time champ Rafael Nadal.
It is a particularly important stretch of the tennis year for “King of Clay” Nadal, who is off to a slow start in 2015 (currently ninth in year-to-date points race). The winner of 27 titles at these four events, Nadal is only defending the champion’s point total at one (Madrid). He also has captured the trophy in Paris nine times, including the last five years in a row.
The other four events leading to the French Open, which starts Sunday, May 24 on ESPN2, ESPN3 and WatchESPN:
- ATP Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, April 20-26. Kei Nishikori is the defending champion; Rafael Nadal has won eight titles.
- WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart, Germany), April 23-24. Maria Sharapova is the three-time defending champion.
- ATP Mutua Madrid Open, May 4-10. Rafael Nadal has four titles at this 1000-point event, including the last two years.
- ATP Internazionali BNL D’Italia (Rome), May 10-17. Last year, Novak Djokovic won for the third time; Rafael Nadal has claimed the title seven times.
Did You Know? Tennis Scores on WatchESPN / ESPN3
In addition to the ESPN television networks on WatchESPN, ESPN3 carries thousands of hours of tennis annually, including all four Grand Slam events, plus ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments and WTA Premier Events, and the season-ending championships for both tours.
Tennis has always been a strong performer on WatchESPN/ESPN3, and continues to grow.
- In 2014, tennis viewing (minutes viewed) on WatchESPN/ESPN3 grew 47 percent vs. the previous year, to an all-time high.
- Growth in popularity is continuing in 2015; the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open were the most-viewed non-Major tournaments ever on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
ESPN – All Four Majors, All In One Place
Tennis has been part of ESPN since its first week on the air, providing numerous memorable moments, but it has never been as important as today, with the addition this year of exclusivity at the US Open in an 11-year agreement. That event joined the lineup in 2009, giving ESPN all four Grand Slam events, something no other U.S. network has ever done, let alone in one year. ESPN has presented the Australian Open since 1984, the French Open since 2002 (plus 1986 – 1993), and Wimbledon since 2003, with exclusivity added in a 12-year agreement that started in 2012. In addition, ESPN3 delivers an unmatched multi-screen presentation of the sport’s four majors, all ATP 1000 and 500 tournaments, WTA Premier Events and season-ending championships for both tours.
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