The first all-teenage final at a Grand Slam since 1999 was a hot draw for ESPN. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 14, 2021

ESPN’s coverage of the 2021 US Open peaked ruing the women’s singles final between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez, reaching a tournament high of 3.4 million viewers at one point.

It was the most-watched women’s final of the seven that ESPN has televised since acquiring rights to broadcast the tournament exclusively in the U.S.

The men’s singles final, which saw Daniil Medvedev end Novak Djokovic’s bid for the Calendar Year Grand Slam, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, peaked at 2.7 million viewers.

Below is a press release from ESPN about their coverage of the tournament:

The 2021 US Open in New York averaged 881,000 viewers in prime time, up 33% (from 662,000) over last year, and it was up 13% (from an average of 702,000 to 796,000) for the entire two weeks of telecasts. Coverage totaled 153 hours across ESPN and ESPN2, an increase of 15% over the 133 that had been scheduled.

This past weekend’s women’s and men’s championships – both featuring historic storylines – each enjoyed large increases over 2020.

Women’s Championship: Fernandez vs. Raducanu

Saturday’s women’s final between unheralded teenagers Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez – the first Major final, male or female, with two unseeded players in the Open Era (since 1968) – averaged 2.44 million viewers. That represents an increase of 37% over last year (Victoria Azarenka vs. Naomi Osaka).

The match peaked at 3.4 million viewers at 6-6:15 p.m. ET, ESPN’s highest peak of the tournament.
It is the most-watched women’s final of the seven ESPN has televised since acquiring US Open exclusivity in 2015 that did not include Serena Williams (2018, 2019).

Raducanu – the first man or woman to reach a Major final having come through qualifying – defeated Fernandez 6-4, 6-3.

Men’s Championship: Djokovic vs. Medvedev

The men’s final featured the first attempt by a man to win the Grand Slam – capturing all four Major crowns in one calendar year – since Rod Laver in 1969. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was also seeking sole ownership of the record for career Majors won by a man, currently a tie at 20 with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

His match against #2 Daniil Medvedev averaged 2.05 million viewers, up 37% from a year ago. It peaked at 2.7 million viewers at 6:15-30 p.m.

Medvedev won his first Major title in denying Djokovic his place in history with a straight sets win – 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Men’s Semifinals

The Men’s Semifinals – now split into an afternoon match (Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Daniil Medvedev) and one in prime time (Novak Djokovic vs. Alexander Zverev) – combined to average 1.3 million viewers. That represents an increase of 46% over 2020.

Former world No. 1 joins Kei Nishikori and Brandon Nakashima as wild card entrants into the main draw.
Andy Murray won his first ATP title at the 2006 San Jose.

This month, the former world No. 1 will return to San Diego.

Dream Denied: Medvedev Stuns Djokovic

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray has been awarded a wild card into this month's San Diego Open. Murray joins Kei Nishikori and Brandon Nakashima as wild card entrants into the main draw.

The ATP 250-Level tournament will be played Monday, September 27 through Sunday, October 3, 2021 at Barnes Tennis Center.

The 34-year-old Murray, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, has won 46 career ATP singles titles since turning professional in 2005. He is a two-time Wimbledon champion, winning grass court titles at the All-England Club in 2013 and 2016. Murray also captured the US Open singles championship in 2012.

Murray became the first player to win two Olympic gold medals in singles. He won Rio in 2016 and London in 2012, which was highlighted by his 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 1 Roger Federer in the final on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

A recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in 2014, Murray is the only player with at least seven victories over Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, including championship wins over all three players among his 14 ATP Masters 1000 titles.

In 2016, Murray earned the No. 1 spot in the FedEx ATP rankings. He ended the year on a 24-match win streak, defeating No. 2 Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking with his ATP-best ninth title of the season.

 

 

 

 

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Murray’s tournament appearance at the Barnes Tennis Center will not be the first time he has played in San Diego. In 2014, Murray led Great Britain to a 3-1 victory over the United States in a first-round Davis Cup match played on a temporary red clay court in the outfield at Petco Park.Murray opened the Davis Cup tie with a decisive 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over American Donald Young. Later in the reverse singles, Murray clinched the match for Great Britain against Sam Querrey of the United States as he scored an impressive 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 victory.

“I have great memories of that Davis Cup tie. It was a great experience playing in a baseball stadium. San Diego is a really nice city and I’m looking forward to going back there later this month for the San Diego Open,” Murray said.

“With the addition of Murray, a former World No. 1 player, the field for this tournament is spectacular,” said San Diego Open Tournament Director Ryan Redondo, “This is going to be an incredible week of men’s professional tennis and I encourage fans to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.”

Top 20 players entered in the 2021 San Diego Open include: No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, No. 11 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 13 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, No. 14 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 19 Cristian Garin of Chile. (Rankings are at time of tournament entry) American Taylor Fritz, a native of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who is currently ranked No. 39, is also in the main draw.

The ATP 250 tournament features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The event offers a total of $600,000 in prize money and tournament champions will receive 250 points in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Tickets for the San Diego Open can be purchased at www.barnessdopen.com.

Photo credit: San Diego Open