Home » TIMag.com news » Players » Davenport to Join Tennis Channel Booth During Women's Year-End Sony Ericsson Championships

Davenport to Join Tennis Channel Booth During Women's Year-End Sony Ericsson Championships

LOS ANGELES - Tennis Channel is bringing former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport into its telecast booth for the first time this week during its comprehensive coverage of the 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships - the season-ending competition in women’s professional tennis - from Doha, Qatar, Tuesday-Sunday, Nov. 4-9. Davenport, who has won six Grand Slam singles and doubles titles in her career, will work with a broadcast team that includes veteran play-by-play announcer Barry MacKay; analyst and former doubles No. 1 Corina Morariu; and on-the-spot interviews, features and commentary from Doha by Tracy Austin, herself a former No. 1.

“I’ve worked with Tennis Channel several times in the past but never as part of its broadcast team during live matches of any caliber, let alone the Sony Ericsson Championships,” said Davenport. “I’ve been fortunate enough to compete in the year-end championships a number of times in my career, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to see them from a different perspective and participate in them once again a new capacity.”

Davenport has garnered numerous accolades during her 15 years of professional tennis. A winner of Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open singles titles, she also won the season-ending singles championship in 1999 after winning the competition’s doubles crown from 1996-1998. She has been ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles, and has amassed 55 singles and 37 doubles titles overall. An almost-certain Hall of Famer, Davenport was named Rookie of the Year by Tennis magazine and World TeamTennis after her debut in 1993 and has collected honors ever since. Among these are World TeamTennis Most Valuable Player in 1997; WTA Tour Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999; the tour’s Diamond ACES Award in 1998 and 1999 for off-court contributions; Prix Orange from French Open journalists in 2000 for being the friendliest and most approachable player on the tour; and the Karen Krantzchke Sportsmanship Award in 2004.

“We’re extremely excited to add someone with Lindsay’s scope and champion’s point of view to our on-air team,” said Larry Meyers, executive producer and senior vice president, production, Tennis Channel. “A fan favorite for years, she has accomplished so much of what most pro tennis players only dream of achieving, and we’re thrilled that she’ll share her insights into what this year’s contenders are thinking and feeling as they attempt to win won of the sport’s most significant prizes this week.”

Tennis Channel will carry more than 30 hours of championship tennis live from Doha, all in high definition. This includes all round-robin matches during the first four days of play, singles semifinals and all doubles competition. The network will follow each day’s live coverage with daily encores, in addition to a same-day replay of the singles final, to offer close to 70 total hours of Sony Ericsson Championship action this week.

The Sony Ericsson Championships conclude the annual women’s professional tennis season. Singles competition initially takes place within two groups of four players each. Every player has one match against each of the other three women in her group, with the top two players in each group advancing to the single-elimination semifinals and subsequent championship. Thus tennis fans are assured of seeing each of these eight stars play at least three matches during the week.

On the doubles side, the four teams that qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships compete in a single-elimination semifinal and championship during the last two days of the event.

When not watching the Sony Ericsson Championships on Tennis Channel, viewers can keep up with the competition online at tennischannel.com, which will feature tournament draws, scores and news, as well as a veteran reporter’s previews in Steve Flink on Tennis and updates at popular fan blog LaRosa’s Sweet Spot.

Tennis Channel’s Live 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships Schedule (HD)

Tennis Channel will also offer same-day replays of the singles and doubles finals on Sunday, Nov. 9: Doubles Final - 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. and 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Singles Final - 7 p.m.-9 p.m.

Posted on November 3, 2008
Permalink