The 2012 Australian Open begins Monday morning in Melbourne, Australia (Sunday evening here in Canada). The Australian Open is the first of four tennis Grand Slams in 2012. TSN will broadcast exclusive coverage of the tournament in Canada, featuring 130 hours of live coverage on TSN and TSN2. Here is a section of TSN’s press release about players to watch.
Coverage will feature Canada’s Milos Raonic, coming off a thrilling win at the Chennai Open to make his second Australian Open appearance as the tournament’s No. 23 seed.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic enters the tournament as the top seed while 2009 champion Rafael Nadal is seeded No. 2. The star-studded men’s field also includes four-time Australian Open winner Roger Federer and Andy Murray – who has lost the past two finals at the Australian Open – seeded No. 3 and No. 4 respectively.
On the women’s side, top-seeded player Caroline Wozniacki continues her quest to win her first Grand Slam title. Wozniacki’s competition includes Wimbledon champion and No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova, followed by Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Defending champion Kim Clijsters and five-time Australian Open winner Serena Williams are expected to play in the tournament despite sustaining injuries during last week’s Brisbane International.
TSN will once again use ESPN’s coverage of the Australian Open. Here is a section of ESPN’s press release with information on commentators and hosts.
Cliff Drysdale – who has been with ESPN since its first tennis telecast in 1979 – leads the ESPN2 team. Chris Evert, who joined ESPN last year for Wimbledon and the US Open, will make her Australian Open debut. Darren Cahill, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver return as analysts. Chris Fowler will again host and call select matches, with Chris McKendry also hosting. Tom Rinaldi will contribute features, news and interviews.
Continue after the break for the complete Australian Open on TSN and TSN2 schedule.
Sunday January 15
6:30pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 1 – TSN2
Monday January 16
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 1 – TSN2 (encore: 1pm ET on TSN)
9:00pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 2 – TSN
Tuesday January 17
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 2 – TSN2 (encore: 12pm ET on TSN)
9:00pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 3 – TSN
Wednesday January 18
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 3 – TSN2 (encore: 12pm ET on TSN)
11:00pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 4 – TSN
Thursday January 19
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 4 – TSN2 (encore: 12pm ET on TSN)
11:00pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 5 – TSN
Friday January 20
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 5 – TSN2 (encore: 12pm ET on TSN)
10:00pm ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 6 – TSN
Saturday January 21
3:00am ET, Early Round Coverage: Day 6 – TSN2 (encore: 10am ET on TSN)
9:00pm ET, Round of 16 – TSN
Sunday January 22
3:00am ET, Round of 16 – TSN2
9:00pm ET, Round of 16 – TSN
Monday January 23
3:30am ET, Round of 16 – TSN2 (encore: 1:30pm ET on TSN)
10:00pm ET, Quarterfinals – TSN2
Tuesday January 24
3:30am ET, Quarterfinals – TSN (encore: 1:30pm ET)
9:00pm ET, Quarterfinals – TSN2
Wednesday January 25
3:30am ET, Quarterfinals – TSN (encore: 1:30pm ET)
10:00pm ET, Women’s Semifinals – TSN
Thursday January 26
3:30am ET, Men’s Semifinal #1 – TSN (encore: 1:30pm ET)
Friday January 27
3:30am ET, Men’s Semifinal #2 – TSN (encore: 1:30pm ET)
Saturday January 28
3:00am ET, Women’s Championship – TSN (encore: 3:30pm ET)
Sunday January 29
3:00am ET, Men’s Championship – TSN (encore: 2:30pm ET)
what time will first raonic be on in the west?