ROGER FEDERER AND NOVAK DJOKOVIC AMONG STARS SET FOR NITTO ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS, LIVE ON TENNIS CHANNEL STARTING SUNDAY, NOV. 11All-Time Greats Joined by Season’s Other Top-Eight Players for London’s Round-Robin Year-End ChampionshipsNetwork will Have Nearly 50 Live Hours, 150 in Total, with Daylong Live Coverage and Encore Blocks Throughout the Night |
| LOS ANGELES, Nov. 5, 2018 – Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic headline the 2018 Nitto ATP World Tour Finals draw, live on Tennis Channel Nov. 11-18. This is the first time the two Grand Slam champions have been in the event together since 2015, in a competition that features the top-eight singles players and doubles teams of the season. With two sessions a day during the week, Tennis Channel’s coverage begins Sunday morning, Nov. 11, and will include every match of an event that annually leads to the year-end World No. 1. The network’s live telecast will include all eight days of the tournament, with encore matches through each night and into the next morning. Tennis Channel will have nearly 50 hours of live action and 150 in total coverage for the most exclusive event on the ATP Tour, with 27 of the 30 matches live on the network.
With the eight top singles players and doubles teams fighting for the championship every day, each match of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals could pass for a major semifinal or final, and comes with a similar intensity level. Action typically begins at 7 a.m. ET each morning with a doubles match, followed by singles action at 9 a.m. ET (a complete schedule is below). The afternoon session follows the same format with matches going from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. ET, beginning with doubles and finishing with singles. After the conclusion of singles play there will be a primetime recap of the entire day on Tennis Channel Live. The first day of live coverage will immediately follow the conclusion of the network’s broadcast of the Fed Cup final, which features the United States against the Czech Republic and begins at 6 a.m. ET. Hall of Famer and back-to-back World Tour Finals runner-up Jim Courier will provide analysis for Tennis Channel during the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals. He will be joined by fellow commentator Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone), who coached all-time greats Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, as well as other Grand Slam champions. Veteran announcer Brett Haber (@BrettHaber) will call matches during the season-ending event, with former ATP Tour pro Prakash Amritraj (@PrakashAmritraj) serving as sideline reporter. The Nitto ATP World Tour Finals are part of the network’s season-ending Chase to the Championships coverage, which includes the Fed Cup final – live this weekend – and Davis Cup final, live the weekend of Nov. 23. Beginning in 2019 this championship coverage will see the return of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals to Tennis Channel. London’s O2 Arena plays host to the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals and is the largest indoor-only tennis venue in the world. It anchors the sprawling O2 entertainment facility, with a campus that includes a bowling alley, trampoline park, 270-degree film-viewing experience, 90-minute roof climb, an immersive dinner theater, and several restaurants and bars. During the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals, the experience resembles that of a Grand Slam event, with an abundance of courts and tennis activities for attendees. For the year-end singles competition, the eight finalists are split into two groups of four and play in a round-robin format, with everyone playing each player in his division. Following the group stage, the top seed in each division will play against the second seed in the other group, creating two semifinal matches, with the winners facing-off in the finals on Sunday, Nov. 18. The doubles event follows the same format. Federer and Djokovic highlight this year’s draw, with the two combining to win three of the four Grand Slams this season. They will compete against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, 2018 Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson, and young stars Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem. The last two spots in London are filled by Kei Nishikori and John Isner. For Nishikori, this will be his fourth appearance at the year-end championships and Isner will be making his Nitto ATP Tour Finals debut. World No. 2 Rafael Nadal and 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin del Potro both had to withdraw from the event due to injury. The doubles draw includes Americans Mike Bryan-Jack Sock, as well as Lukasz Kubot-Marcelo Melo, Oliver Marach-Mate Pavic, Juan Sebastian Cabal-Robert Farah, Jamie Murray-Bruno Soares, Raven Lassen-Michael Venus, Pierre-Hugues Herbert-Nicolas Mahut and Nikola Mektic-Alexander Peya. Bryan also qualified with his brother Bob – the two are likely the greatest doubles team in the sport’s history – but Bob was forced to withdraw due to injury. Tennis Channel’s 2018 ATP World Tour Finals Schedule (All matches are live unless otherwise indicated with * for same-day delay. + indicates coverage will begin following the conclusion of the Fed Cup final.): Date Time (ET) Topic Sunday, Nov. 11 Not before 7 a.m.+ Doubles and Singles Round-Robin Monday, Nov. 12 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Round-Robin 9 a.m.-11 Tuesday, Nov. 13 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Round-Robin 9 a.m.-11 a.m.; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Round-Robin 9 a.m.-11 a.m.; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Round-Robin 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.* Friday, Nov. 16 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Round-Robin 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m.; 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.* Saturday, Nov. 17 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m.; Doubles and Singles Semifinals 9 a.m.-11 a.m.; 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.; Double Final; Singles Final 3 p.m.-5 p.m.*
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