Home » TIMag.com news » Tournaments/Events » Tennis Channel to Carry Complete, Live Coverage of First-Round U.S. Davis Cup Competition This Weekend

Tennis Channel to Carry Complete, Live Coverage of First-Round U.S. Davis Cup Competition This Weekend

*LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2009 - *Tennis Channel will offer exclusive coverage of the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first-round competition between the United States and Switzerland in Birmingham, Ala., this weekend. Live telecasts of each match and same-day, “Instant Encore” replays will take place throughout the weekend, March 6-8, beginning at 2 p.m. ET each day. Two-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Ted Robinson will provide play by play for the network while Justin Gimelstob, a member of the 1998 and 2001 U.S. Davis Cup teams, will supply color commentary.

Leading the American team is Captain Patrick McEnroe, who was a three-time Davis Cup team member during his playing days and has been at the helm of the squad since 2000. He returns the same team that won the title in 2007: twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the World No. 1 doubles tandem and 2009 Australian Open doubles champions, along with No. 6 and No. 13 singles players Andy Roddick and James Blake, respectively. Switzerland will be without its top-ranked player Roger Federer, who was forced to withdraw due to a back injury, but still brings an impressive roster of Stanislas Wawrinka, Stephane Bohli, Marco Chiudinelli and Yves Allegro into Birmingham.

Coverage from the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena (all times ET): Friday, March 6: 2 p.m. - Live Singles #1 5 p.m. - Live Singles #2 {9 p.m. - “Instant Encore” Singles #1} {12 a.m. - “Instant Encore” Singles #2}

Saturday, March 7: 2 p.m. - Live Doubles {9 p.m. - “Instant Encore” Doubles} {12 a.m. - “Instant Encore” Doubles}

Sunday, March 8: 2 p.m. - Live Singles #1 5 p.m. - Live Singles #2 {9 p.m. - “Instant Encore” Singles #1} {12 a.m. - “Instant Encore” Singles #2}

Following each day’s live and encore coverage, Tennis Channel’s Web site, www.tennischannel.com, will make all matches available on demand and in their entirety.

The United States won its 32nd Davis Cup title - and first in 12 years - in 2007, defeating Russia 4-1 in the championship round, which was held on American soil for the first time since 1992. Last year the team was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion Spain. This will be only the third meeting between the United States and Switzerland in this competition. After the U.S. team defeated Switzerland in the 1992 final, the Swiss got revenge in the first round in 2001.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and passionate lifestyle of tennis. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by eight of the top 10 MSOs and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.

Posted on March 4, 2009
Permalink