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On Saturday, March 28, ESPN2 will bring fans a 22-hour marathon of marquee matches from past Wimbledon and Australian Open tournaments between two of the sports’ greats – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The six-match slate begins at 6 a.m. ET immediately following the conclusion of the previously announced marathon featuring Serena Williams starting Friday at 6 p.m.
The lineup gets underway with the 2006 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship, which marked Federer’s fourth consecutive title at the event and the first of three straight years the two would meet in the final. The day continues with the schedule’s only semifinal – the 2012 Australian Open – and is followed by four more iconic championship matches. The 2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship, where Nadal took home an unforgettable victory after the duo set the record at the time for the longest Wimbledon final, will be shown Saturday night in primetime.
Over their careers, the two have gone head to head 40 times and have 39 Grand Slam victories between them. Currently, Nadal leads those matches, 24-16, but Federer has one more Grand Slam with 20 to Nadal’s 19.
Additional special programming will be announced in the coming days via @ESPNPR and ESPN Press Room.
Federer-Nadal Marathon Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network(s) |
| Sat, Mar 28 | 6 a.m. | 2006 Wimbledon – Gentlemen’s Championship
Federer successfully defended his title for a fourth consecutive year. It would be the first of three years in a row that Federer and Nadal would meet in the final of Wimbledon. |
ESPN2, ESPN App |
| 8 a.m. | 2012 Australian Open – Men’s Semifinal
They were on the same side of the draw for the first time at a major since 2005. Two weeks before, Nadal injured his right knee and wasn’t sure he’d be able to start the tournament. |
ESPN2, ESPN App | |
| 10 a.m. | 2007 Wimbledon – Gentlemen’s Championship
With this win, Federer equaled Björn Borg’s Open Era record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles. |
ESPN2, ESPN App | |
| 1 p.m. | 2017 Australian Open – Men’s Championship
Federer and Nadal were written off by most people. Things didn’t look good for either of them at the end of the 2016 season. They came back with another five set classic. Federer came out on top, winning his 18th major title. |
ESPN2, ESPN App | |
| 6 p.m. | 2008 Wimbledon – Gentlemen’s Championship
Considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. This highly-anticipated rematch set the record for the longest Wimbledon final at the time – 4 hours and 48 minutes with two rain delays. |
ESPN2, ESPN App | |
| 11 p.m. | 2009 Australian Open – Men’s Championship
The first four sets saw an unimaginable level of play. Federer faded away in the 5th set, giving Nadal his first and only Australian Open title. |
ESPN2, ESPN App |
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Media Contacts: Diane Lamb [email protected]; Michael Skarka [email protected]
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