U.S. Open Begins on ESPN2 & Tennis Channel Today

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The Office Move From Hell set me back in posting over the last two weeks so I’m trying to catch up with a few things. On Monday, the final tennis Grand Slam begins with the U.S. Open in New York. There will be four networks bringing this event to viewers.

It’s to the point where you’ll need all types of program guides to handle everything. On weekdays, Tennis Channel will kick off coverage with the first match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Tennis Channel will start its coverage at 10:30 a.m. ET and after the first match at 11 a.m. concludes, will handle the outer courts until 7 p.m.

ESPN2 will hit the air at 1 p.m. and mostly focus on Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadium throughout the day. At 7 p.m., it will be “Primetime at the Open” with the cameras solely focused on the action at Ashe.

Labor Day Weekend daytime coverage will be on CBS from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. For the first time, CBS Sports Network will be involved with outer court coverage on Saturday, September 1 through Labor Day Monday.

Weekend primetime coverage will be on Tennis Channel.

Got it? There will be a test at the end.

Here’s ESPN2’s crew for The Open.

The ESPN Tennis Team

• Chris Evert, who joined ESPN in 2011 counts a record six US Open titles among her numerous career highlights, including 18 major titles and the best career win-loss record in history.
• Cliff Drysdale, a two-time Wimbledon and French Open semifinalist and a US Open finalist who has been with ESPN since its first tennis telecast in 1979, Drysdale was a leader on the court – as one of the first to use a two-hand backhand – and off the court, as the first president of the ATP.
• Darren Cahill, who once reached the US Open semifinals and the Australian Open doubles finals and went on to coach fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, has worked for ESPN since 2007.
• Mary Joe Fernandez, who played in three Major finals and won two Majors in doubles, won a Gold Medal in doubles at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and a Bronze in singles in 1992.  An ESPN analyst since 2000, she leads the United States’ Fed Cup team and recently coached the U.S. women’s Olympic team at Wimbledon where Serena Williams won gold in singles and teamed with her sister Venus for the gold in doubles.
• Chris Fowler, who joined ESPN in 1986 and has hosted College GameDay on football Saturdays since 1990, has hosted tennis since 2003, branching out over the years to also call matches. His diverse resume includes World Cup soccer, college basketball including the Final Four, the X Games and Triple Crown horse racing events, after first serving as host of Scholastic Sports America and then anchoring SportsCenter.
• Brad Gilbert, whose flair and penchant for unique nicknames for players has enlivened ESPN’s tennis telecasts since 2004, parlayed his playing career – once reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open and at Wimbledon – into coaching Andre Agassi (six Major titles with Brad), Andy Roddick (US Open victory) and Andy Murray.
• LZ Granderson, a writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, will provide his perspective in reports and features as he did at Wimbledon this summer. He has also appeared on SportsCenter, Outside the Lines and ESPN First Take. He also writes for CNN.com and has previously worked at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
• John McEnroe won four US Open crowns – plus three at Wimbledon – during his storied career, which included 10 more major championships in doubles or mixed doubles.  He also led the U.S. to four Davis Cup titles and won the NCAA’s while attending Stanford.  He has worked the US Open for ESPN since 2009, adding Wimbledon to his ESPN resume this year.
• Patrick McEnroe, who has worked for ESPN since 1995, was the U.S. Davis Cup captain 2001-2010 and in 2007 the team won its first championship since 1995. A three-time singles All-American at Stanford – where the team won NCAA titles in 1986 and 1988 – he is General Manager, USTA Elite Player Development. He won the 1992 French Open doubles title and reached the 1991 Australian Open semifinals in singles.
• Chris McKendry, a SportsCenter anchor since joining ESPN in 1996, serves as a host at the US Open and Australian Open for ESPN. She attended Drexel University on a tennis scholarship.
• Tom Rinaldi will serve as a reporter and will call matches, as he first did at Wimbledon this summer. His features and interviews have graced a wide variety of ESPN programs – including SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, E:60 and event telecasts such as Wimbledon, tennis’ US Open, golf’s Majors, college football and more – since 2003, winning numerous Sports Emmy Awards along the way.
• Pam Shriver, who started working for ESPN in 1990, long before her Hall of Fame career ended, played in the US Open finals at age 16 (losing to Evert) and won 23 Grand Slam titles in doubles including five at Wimbledon plus a Gold Medal in doubles at the 1988 Olympics.
• Mike Tirico, the voice of ESPN’s Monday Night Football since 2006 and the network’s golf host, will both anchor in the studio and call matches, as he has done since 2009.  He added Wimbledon duties this year. After joining ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor in 1991, Tirico has handled a wide variety of assignments in the studio and in play-by-play, on TV and on ESPN Radio, including the NFL, NBA, World Cup Soccer plus college football and basketball.
• Hannah Storm joined ESPN in 2008 as a SportsCenter anchor and has hosted Wimbledon and the US Open on ESPN. Previously, she spent five years with CBS’ The Morning Show and hosted a variety of sports, including Wimbledon, over many years with NBC Sports. She produced the 2010 documentary Unmatched, a “30 for 30” film reviewing the rivalry and friendship between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

Here’s ESPN2’s schedule for the U.S. Open:

ESPN2 HD & the 2012 US Open

Here’s Tennis Channel’s schedule:

Tennis Channel’s Live 2012 US Open Coverage Schedule

Date                                        Time (ET)                  Event
Monday, Aug. 27                    10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First-Round Action
Tuesday, Aug. 28                    10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First-Round Action
Wednesday, Aug. 29              10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        First-Round, Second-Round Action
Thursday, Aug. 30                  10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Second-Round Action
Friday, Aug. 31                       10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Second-Round, Third-Round Action
Saturday, Sept. 1                    7 p.m.-11 p.m.             Third-Round Action
Sunday, Sept. 2                       7 p.m.-11 p.m.            Third-Round, Fourth-Round Action
Tuesday, Sept. 4                     10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Fourth-Round Action, Doubles
Wednesday, Sept. 5                10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Doubles
Thursday, Sept. 6                    10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.        Doubles, Juniors

Tennis Channel’s crew will include Bill Macatee who will lead the coverage in the booth along with new lead men’s analyst Jim Courier and women’s analyst Martina Navratilova. Also calling the matches will be Brett Haber, Ian Eagle and Ted Robinson. Mary Carillo will have a role on Tennis Channel’s coverage. Analysts will include Justin Gimelstob, Tracy Austin, Lindsay Davenport, Rennae Stubbs and Mats Wilander.

If you’re wondering what CBS/CBS Sports Network’s coverage plans are, I’ve already posted them and you can find them here.

And that’s your U.S. Open primer.

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