Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Semifinals on ESPN: A Giant Duel, A Duel of Giants

• Nadal – Djokovic, Round 52
• 6’8 Kevin Anderson vs. 6’10” American John Isner
• Breakfast at Wimbledon: Interviews with Isner, Billie Jean King, Discussion of 50 Years of “Open” Tennis
• Saturday’s Ladies’ Championship: 25 Serena Williams vs. No. 11 Angelique Kerber

ESPN’s exclusive coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon continues on Friday, July 13, with the Gentlemen’s Semifinals on ESPN at 8 a.m. ET with a matchup of two of the tallest players followed by two of the all-time greats:

• 8 Kevin Anderson: 32, 6’8” and from South Africa and the University of Illinois.  First Wimbledon semifinal.  Lost to Rafael Nadal in 2017 US Open final.
• 9 John Isner: 33, 6’10” and from North Carolina and the University of Georgia.  First Major semifinal.
• Head to Head: Isner leads 8-3 overall and 1-0 on grass (Queens Club, 2008).  They last met at Indian Wells in 2015.

Followed by:

• 2 Rafael Nadal: 32, 6’1” and from Mallorca, Spain. 17 Major titles including two at Wimbledon
• 12 Novak Djokovic: 31, 6’2” and from Serbia.  12 Major titles including three at Wimbledon.
• Head to Head: Djokovic leads 26-25 in the most meetings of any matchup in the Open Era. Djokovic leads 14-10 in finals, Nadal leads 2-1 on grass and they have split two meetings at Wimbledon.

ESPN+ on the ESPN App

Beyond Centre Court, more courts are available on the ESPN App with the new ESPN+ service, making its Major tennis debut.  These are Courts 1, 2, 3, 12, 14, 17 and 18.  Play – including Doubles, Juniors, Wheelchair and Invitational (seniors) – begins at 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. (depending on the court; Court 1 at 8 a.m.).  ESPN+ matches will include the Ladies’ Doubles Semifinals (including teams with Americans Abigail Spears and Nicole Melichar), the Wheelchair competition and the Boys’ and Girls’ Singles Semifinals and Doubles Quarterfinals.

Breakfast at Wimbledon at 7 a.m.

The two Gentlemen’s Semifinal matches will be preceded by Breakfast at Wimbledon at 7 a.m., hosted by Chris McKendry.  The show will include:

• A review of key anniversaries at Wimbledon this year: 150 years of the All England Club, 50 years of the Open Era including an interview with Billie Jean King, and 10 years since the epic Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer title match.
• Tom Rinaldi sits down with John Isner who says he is “more than” the Isner-Mahut marathon match and notes his friendship with his opponent today, Kevin Anderson, goes back to their college days
• A quick update on the outcome of the Wimbledon Village’s “storefront decoration contest.”
• A preview of the day’s Gentlemen’s Semifinals and a look ahead at the Ladies’ Championship.

“Wimbledon Multicam” on ESPN3 Returns for Semifinals, “DataCenter” Makes Wimbledon Debut for Championships

ESPN3 – online and streaming live on the ESPN App – will once again add an additional feed – “Wimbledon Multicam” – for the semifinals.  It has three boxes – the primary TV view, plus two more, each focusing on one player.

For the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Championships, ESPN3 will offer “DataCenter,” as seen at last year’s US Open.  A column of match stats will be on the left edge with more in a box along the bottom of the screen; the match telecast will fill the rest of the screen.

Ladies’ Championship Saturday – Serena Goes for History in Rematch of 2016

Saturday’s Wimbledon Ladies’ Championship will begin at 9 a.m., preceded by Breakfast at Wimbledon at 8 a.m.:

• 11 Angelique Kerber, a two-time Major champion in her second Wimbledon final, vs. No. 25 Serena Williams, who is aiming to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 Major titles (seven of her 23 are at Wimbledon). The matchup is a rematch of the 2016 Ladies’ Championship, won by Williams 7-5, 6-3.

ESPN & WIMBLEDON 2018

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