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by Christopher Gerby It looked so promising on paper. With 80 hours of coverage on its schedule, ESPN and sister network ESPN2 seemed destined to provide healthy portions of dramatic action from the Australian Open. Literally minutes into said coverage, the writing was on the wall. Rapid fire red, white, and blue images flashed across the screen as we were introduced to Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Venus Williams, and Lindsay Davenport. These four horsemen of the TV tennis apocalypse were -- at least according to ESPN's less than subtle intro -- the only players of consequence in the year's first Grand Slam event. Just as ESPN's live coverage was getting underway on Day One, intense drama was playing out on a show court. Viewers in Europe and Down Under watched as three time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten struggled mightily to put away Dutch veteran John van Lottum, who was having his own mighty struggle with severe cramps. Literally writhing on the court in agony at times, Van Lottum nevertheless extended "Guga" to 8-6 in the fifth set. ESPN2, meanwhile, was running a seemingly endless fluff piece devoted to the glorious wonders of all things Roddick. Kuerten's gut check victory never saw the light of day on American television, failing to garner so much as a highlights package. Rather than just one ill-timed oversight, this was a sign of things to come. ESPN simply forged ahead with its plan to pummel their audience over the head with a steady stream of Andy and Andre, whether they were playing competitive matches or not. Neither man surrendered a set en route to the semifinals, but ESPN's cameras remained slavishly locked on every last suspense-free point. Not content to just show the matches in their entirety the first time around (frequently via tape delay), ESPN would repeat them the following day, lest anyone miss the opportunity to watch "A-Rod" dominate or "the A Train" smack around a lowly qualifier. Seeing the same blowouts again, viewers could have sworn they'd stumbled onto a new network altogether: ESPN Non-Classic. All the while, top ranked international players languished in obscurity, as did countless competitive matches which remained unavailable to discerning tennis fans. Those fans responded by literally blanketing online message boards with anti-ESPN fury, but to no avail. Citing a determination to "cover the stories that the American tennis fan and the American sports fan" supposedly craves, ESPN programming spokesman Len DeLuca admitted a conscious fixation on a select few players from the United States. Mr. DeLuca is probably quite right that Andre, Andy, Serena, and Venus are the four names most appealing to casual American tennis fans. However, is catering to dilettantes on the fringes truly worth alienating your core audience? Do lopsided straight set cakewalks really do more to grow the sport's fan base than five set nailbiters? Is it really wise to throw so many of your eggs into baskets carried by a pair of oft-injured siblings and a man who'll turn 34 in April? What happens when the only players left in a draw are the foreigners you've trained viewers not to care about? And would ESPN really take this course of action with any other sport? Tiger Woods is by far the most popular player in golf, but you don't see taped footage of him while the other top contenders are on the course. Fast forward to the desert of Indian Wells, where ESPN had an unprecedented 50 hours of coverage on tap. Yet again, the quantity proved as dubious as the quality. Once upon a time, you could count on ESPN to fill the remaining time in coverage window by switching to another court or airing the best untelevised action from earlier in the day. Alas, aside from a few token games from the Maria Sharapova vs. Sesil Karatancheva grudge match, holes in the alleged 50 hours were always plugged with Agassi/Roddick redux. Without a Williams sister to be found, the network's focus remained squarely on those two usual suspects. The tournament's own schedule was accomodated to this end, with Roddick's opening match bumped to a fan-unfriendly 11 AM simply because that's where ESPN had slotted its two hours of coverage. Never mind that # 1 player in the world Roger Federer ultimately won the tournament or that fellow # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne did likewise. The amount of respect they receive from ESPN was apparent when the network bailed out before each of their Australian Open trophy ceremonies (a policy never practiced in the days when Agassi and Jennifer Capriati took home Melbourne hardware). The abundant flaws in ESPN's approach to tennis coverage might not seem so glaring were there not a new beacon of broadcasting light to compare them against. While it may not be available everywhere just yet, nor have the mountainous stacks of cash ESPN has used to acquire three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Channel is already putting the gang in Bristol to shame. In exchange for promoting ESPN's opening Sunday coverage from Indian Wells, the Tennis Channel was allowed to carry one day of early round action. The result, christened "Super Saturday," lived up to its name and then some. From 10 o'clock in the morning Pacific time until the end of the night session, TTC followed every ball hit on the stadium court. Sure, there was an afternoon Zen master sighting, as Agassi took the stage to dispose of David Sanchez. But unlike ESPN, which would follow Steffi's hubby with taped footage of Roddick strolling the grounds or cut away to some high priority billiards coverage, TTC televised the entire scope of action. Fans lucky enough to have the channel could see Sharapova stave off a spirited challenge from up-and-comer Flavia Pennetta, revel in the genius of Henin-Hardenne's strokes as she overpowered Samantha Reeves, enjoy the delirious contrast of styles as Taylor Dent serve-and-volleyed his way to a close win over Kuerten, catch the feisty scrambling of Lleyton Hewitt in his encounter with former Aussie Open champ Thomas Johansson, and see Tommy Haas take the biggest step of his comeback in a startlingly well-played upset of Thai hero Paradorn Srichaphan. Granted, ESPN's commitments to other sports (most of which tend to trump tennis on its totem pole) would preclude it from approximating what the Tennis Channel did on Super Saturday. But by giving the die-hard tennis nut such a welcome chance to sample the players who hover under ESPN's radar, TTC can at least serve as a supplement to the main coverage...right? Unfortunately, the synergy which existed in Indian Wells was a rare breakthrough in what has thus far been a frosty relationship between the two networks. The week before Indian Wells featured an ATP stop in Scottsdale, with ESPN handling the singles final and TTC gladly providing wall to wall coverage from the early rounds. The quarterfinals were particularly engrossing, as Vince Spadea edged out James Blake in a topsy-turvy thriller and Roddick rallied from a set down against compatriot Jan-Michael Gambill. It was enough to whet any viewer's appetite for the semifinals...but that's where Scottsdale coverage hit an ugly snag. ESPN owned the weekend rights, but had no intention of showing the semis, nor a willingness to let the Tennis Channel carry them. For all intents and purposes, the tournament vanished on its penultimate day. Unless you were there in person, you didn't see Spadea's surprising victory over Roddick. Unfortunate for ESPN, when you think about it, since seeing those semifinals surely would have encouraged people to check out their coverage of the championship match. "We are trying very hard to help ESPN understand that we are good for tennis and will help everyone in it," says TTC founder Steve Bellamy. "Some people over there get it and some don't." While the Andy & Andre show continues on ESPN -- sometimes live, often Memorex -- the Tennis Channel gets it right. Matches are carried live, with minimal commercial interruptions. The featured attractions on center court get equal attention, regardless of where the players happened to be born. Pre-match profiles and post-match interviews humanize players who might not be household names, with even the fast-paced world of doubles getting its due. "We have shown more doubles on The Tennis Channel than all of the broadcast networks for the last 10 years combined," Bellamy proudly points out. International events like the Hopman Cup, Davis Cup, and Fed Cup have also found a home on the Tennis Channel, drawing extensive coverage whether American stars are involved or not. Even the announcers are a refreshing alternative to ESPN's droning band of nationalistic cheerleaders. Former ATP journeyman Geoff Grant has found his calling as a color commentator, bringing a lively combination of wit and insight to the booth. Grant's anecdotes from life on the tour and experience against the players he's covering are invaluable, plus he has a nice rapport with gifted play-by-play man Leif Shiras. The colorful personalities really abounded on "Super Saturday," when the legendary Bud Collins wound up calling a match alongside notorious smart aleck Justin Gimelstob. Lending his offbeat presence to the Tennis Channel quite a bit while rehabbing a broken foot, Gimelstob has all but matched Grant's knack for keeping a match interesting regardless of the score. All in all, it beats Cliff Drysdale repetitively asking ESPN colleague Patrick McEnroe about his squad of Davis Cup "chickens." The eyes of the tennis world now shift to Miami, where the Tennis Channel plans to roll out another "Super Saturday" before ESPN takes the coverage reins. Those of us hoping for some variety can feast on that opening salvo, then pine away for subsequent matches ESPN and "the Deuce" deem unworthy of airtime. Unfortunately, for the last eight days of the event, there's nothing TTC can do to help. "Believe me, we would love to cover the other matches," says Steve Bellamy. "It is probably unlikely we will get these guys to change." Well, hello again, Andy and Andre! |