World Tennis Magazine

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american red cross

Novak Djokovic to join Kei Nishikori for Japan disaster fund-raiser

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Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic has gone immediately to South Florida to prepare for the Sony Ericsson Open, which begins Wednesday, and to join with fellow pro Kei Nishikori in orchestrating a fund-raising event for Wednesday night that benefits Japan earthquake/tsunami victims.

The event is being co-hosted by GR8 Miami, but won’t interrupt any top players, who have byes through the first round. Djokovic won’t play until Friday or Saturday.

Before an 8 p.m. dinner Wednesday night, Djokovic will join other ATP players in an exhibition soccer match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Following the dinner, GR8 is putting on an after-party silent auction with donations going to the American Red Cross Japan disaster relief efforts.

“Since we heard about the earthquake and all it’s consequences I wanted to do something to support the victims,” said Djokovic. “I have played last week with messages posted on my knee tape, but this is something different, since we want to raise money for the Red Cross to help people.

Tickets for the dinner can be purchased online at www.GR8Miami.com or by calling 415-225-5764 or 561-706-4276.

TENNIS CHANNEL TO CARRY 90 HOURS OF LIVE MATCHES AT 2010 BNP PARIBAS OPEN

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LOS ANGELES, March 9, 2010 – Tennis Channel will essentially become the 2010 BNP Paribas Open network during the next two weeks, adjusting its programming schedule for the Indian Wells, Calif.-based men’s and women’s tournament, one of the most celebrated events of the year.  The channel plans 90 hours of live coverage over the 12-day competition, including the men’s and women’s singles finals, a tennis-legends “Hit For Haiti” exhibition, and seven consecutive days of close to 12 hours of back-to-back matches.

Hit for Haiti
Hit for Haiti

Tournament coverage begins with “Hit For Haiti presented by Oracle” Friday, March 12, at 10:30 p.m. ET.  The exhibition will feature a lineup of Grand Slam champions that includes Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graf, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin.  Proceeds from ticket sales and viewer contributions will support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.  Tennis Channel will run an on-screen crawl with donation information for viewers and an encore replay of the event immediately following its conclusion.  The network’s Web site, www.tennischannel.com, will also stream the event live and provide a link for visitors who want to contribute to Haiti relief.  The exhibition will be accessible online via on-demand throughout the tournament, as will the donation link.

Tennis Channel’s first tournament-match coverage begins Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m. ET.  The network will keep cameras on the courts until 2 a.m. ET. Sunday, March 14, and repeat the process that afternoon.  After the weekend’s play the on-air schedule begins at 3 p.m. ET daily, from Monday, March 15 through Sunday, March 21, when the women’s and men’s singles finals take place.  In addition to 90 hours of live matches, Tennis Channel will offer 70 hours of “instant encore” matches.  These replay blocks of the previous evening’s competitions begin at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. ET and run up to the afternoon’s live coverage.

The network will bring Hall of Famer Tracy Austin to the booth during women’s matches, alongside sportscaster Brett Haber and field reporter Cari Champion. ATP Media’s Jason Goodall, Doug Adler and Robbie Koenig will handle Tennis Channel’s coverage of the men’s

matches in Indian Wells, with the Emmy Award-winning Brian Webber providing off-camera hosting assistance.

Beyond its online activity for “Hit For Haiti,” www.tennischannel.com will go behind the scenes via Tennischannel.com Grounds Pass video updates, and post the network’s Court Report on-air and online news segments, produced from Indian Wells during the tournament.  The network’s Web site will also host its popular Racquet Bracket tournament-prediction game.

Tennis Channel’s Live BNP Paribas Open Match Schedule

Date                                        Time (ET)                   Event

Saturday, March 13                  2 p.m.-2 a.m.               Second-Round

Sunday, March 14                    2 p.m.-2 a.m.               Second-Round, Third-Round

Monday, March 15                  3 p.m.-2:30 a.m.           Third-Round

Tuesday, March 16                  3 p.m.-2:30 a.m.           Third-Round, Round of 16

Wednesday, March 17 3 p.m.-2:30 a.m.           Round of 16, Women’s Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 18                 3 p.m.-midnight            Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals

Friday, March 19                     3 p.m.-midnight            Men’s Quarterfinals, Women’s Semifinals

Saturday, March 20                  3 p.m.-11 p.m.             Men’s Semifinals, Doubles Final

Sunday, March 21                    3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.          Women’s Final, Men’s Final

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle.  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 nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.