ESPN's Primetime Coverage is the Most-Viewed US Open Early Round Telecast Ever on ESPN Networks

ESPN Wins Wednesday Night -- Most-Viewed Broadcast or Cable Network Among Men and Adults

Tonight on ESPN2: Serena and Venus Williams in Doubles at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

Friday Round Three: Serena Plays Tomljanovic on network at 7 p.m. ET

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Wednesday night's US Open match with the legendary Serena Williams - in what is expected to be her final event and defeating Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in a dramatic and well-played second-round contest 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 - peaked in the last quarter hour (9:30-9:45 p.m.) with 5 million viewers. The audience averaged 2.3 million viewers for PrimeTime at the US Open presented by IBM (7:00pm - 12:31am), an increase of +289% over last year, versus Day Three of last year's primetime telecast.

Williams v. Kontaveit also helped ESPN win the night among all broadcast or cable networks among Men and Adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 and placed it as the second most-viewed network among households and P2+.

Williams' next match will be Friday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. vs. Ajla Tomljanovich, a 29-year-old from Croatia currently ranked No. 46 in the world. The two have never played.

Williams Sisters in Doubles Tonight on ESPN2

Tonight, on ESPN2 at 7p.m. ET, Williams and her sister Venus - who are 14-0 in Major finals in women's doubles and have won three Olympic Gold Medals in women's doubles - will team to play their first-round match. Across the net they will see Czech compatriots Lucie Hradecka, a two-time Major champion in women's doubles with one also in mixed doubles, and Linda Noskova who is playing doubles for the first time in a Major tournament. The two are 20 years apart, at 37 and 17, respectively. The second match on Ashe will be a meeting of 22-time Major winner No. 2 Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini of Italy, 35 and ranked No. 60.

Friday at the US Open (all times ET)

ESPN begins at noon and continues non-stop through the evening with the first day of Third Round matches.

· Ashe Stadium:

o Starting at noon, Andy Murray will face No. 13 Matteo Berrettini, followed by an All-American match up of No. 12 Coco Gauff and No. 20 Madison Keys.

o Starting at 7 p.m., Serena Williams will meet Ajla Tomljanovic, followed by defending US Open champion Daniil Medvedev vs. Yibing Wu of China.

· Armstrong Stadium:

o Starting at 11 a.m., No. 5 Ons Jabeur faces. No. 31 Shelby Rogers of South Carolina, followed by No. 5 Casper Ruud vs. American Tommy Paul and No. 29 Alison Riske-Amritraj from Pittsburgh playing Xiyu Wang of China.

o The 7 p.m. doubleheader will start with 2019 winner Bianca Andreescu and No. 17 Caroline Garcia and conclude with Nick Kyrgios meeting J.J. Wolf of Ohio who was the top-ranked college player in the U.S. in 2019 while at Ohio State.

ESPN & the 2022 US Open - Third Round

Date Time (ET) Network(s) Event

Mon Aug 29 - Thurs Sept 8 11 a.m. ESPN+, ESPN3 Up to 16 courts in action

Fri Sept 2 11 a.m. ESPN Deportes Third Round Noon ESPN 6 p.m. ESPN2 7 p.m. ESPN Primetime at the US Open presented by IBM - Third Round ESPN Deportes Third Round 10 p.m. ESPN2 Continued: Primetime at the US Open presented by IBM - Third Round

* The Western Michigan at Michigan State college football game previously scheduled to air on ESPN at 7pm ET will now air on ESPN2 at that same time.

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