French Open Begins 5/25 on ESPN Networks

By: May. 19, 2014
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The second Major of the year - the French Open on the iconic red clay of Roland Garros in Paris - begins Sunday, May 25, on ESPN2 and ESPN3, the start of more than 50 hours on television and 330 via ESPN3's presentation of up to seven courts on the days ESPN2 is on the air. ESPN2 and ESPN3 will begin at 5 a.m. ET most days on weekdays through Thursday, June 5, culminating with the women's semifinals.

After the opening day, ESPN2's schedule will continue with an all-live telecast starting at 5 a.m. each day through Friday, May 30, and again on Monday, June 2. The network will air live and same-day quarterfinal action Tuesday, June 4, at 1 p.m. and Wednesday, June 5, at 8 a.m. ESPN2 will air both women's semifinals live Thursday, June 6, at 9 a.m.

The ESPN Tennis Team, the best tennis team in television, in Paris:

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.

Chrissie Evert, a Hall of Famer who joined ESPN in 2011, her 18 major titles includes a record six US Open titles. She recorded the best career win-loss record in history, and this French Open is the 40th anniversary of her first Major title.

Mary Joe Fernandez, who played in three Major singles 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 coached the 2012 U.S. women's Olympic team.

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 hosting World Cup soccer, college basketball including the Final Four, the X Games and Triple Crown horse racing events. Originally the host of Scholastic Sports America and later a SportsCenter anchor, in 2014 he becomes the lead play caller on ABC's Saturday night college football, including the new championship game.

Brad Gilbert, whose flair and 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.

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.

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 21 Grand Slam titles in women's doubles (another in Mixed) including five at the US Open plus a Gold Medal in doubles at the 1988 Olympics.

For the seventh consecutive year, ESPN2 is working with Tennis Channel to bring viewers an almost around-the-clock tournament experience, with each channel cross-promoting the other's schedule.



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