@ESPNTennis: French Open Monday Highlighted by Completion of Federer/Monfils; plus Serena/Sloane, Murray/Chardy, Nadal/Sock, Djokovic/Gasquet

• Federer and Hometown Crowd Favorite at One Set Apiece before Darkness Sunday
• Serena-Sloane in All-U.S. Rivalry of Generations
• Young American Jack Sock Faces “King of Clay” in Round of 16; Winner Could Get No. 1 Djokovic in Quarterfinal on ESPN2 on Wednesday
• Day Begins with Sharapova-Safarova in Round of 16
• Djokovic Faces Gasquet, Murray Plays Chardy as the Men’s “Big Four” All in Action

 The French Open on ESPN2 and ESPN3 resumes Monday, June 1, full of intriguing matches:

• Monday’s play will begin with No. 2 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 13 Lucie Safarova in a Round of 16 match originally scheduled for Sunday but not begun.
• The resumption of the Round of 16 match – tied at one set apiece – between No. 2 seed Roger Federer, who counts the 2009 French Open among his 17 Major titles, and Frenchman No. 13 Gael Monfils who loves to thrill the crowd in Paris with his shot-making and ebullient personality;
• 22-year old Nebraska native Jack Sock – the surprising last American male in Paris – facing nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16;
• and the quickly growing Serena Williams-Sloane Stephens rivalry in a Round of 16 battle of Americans born 12 years apart. On espnW.com, Jim Caple analyzed the duo’s history: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12985955/rivalry-not-serena-williams-sloane-stephens-full-intrigue.

Brad Gilbert Says:

Re: Sock/Nadal — “I am increasingly impressed with Jack ‘Rockem’ Sock, and I’m not saying Rafa is looking ahead, but the ‘King of Clay’ and his 69-1 record in Paris is not going to let Jack Sock get in the way of an off-the-charts quarterfinal duel with the Djoker. I see one tough set, but see Rafa in winning in three.”

Re: Federer/Monfils, tied at one set apiece — “Fedfans are nervous, now that if he wins he’ll have to play back-to-back days. I think this one is going five.”

Re: Serena/Sloane — “Serena in straights. She’s had her hiccups, but gets stronger as tournaments go on.”

In a quarterfinal match Wednesday on ESPN2, the Sock/Nadal winner will face the winner of top-seeded Novak Djokovic – seeking to complete a career Grand Slam with a win on the red clay of Roland Garros – and Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the No. 20 seed, in action later Monday.

The French Open schedule this week for ESPN2 and ESPN3:

• On Monday, June 1, action starts at 5 a.m. ET on both ESPN2 and ESPN3.
• On Tuesday, June 2, ESPN2 will air live and same-day quarterfinal action at 1 p.m. (ESPN3 begins at 8 a.m.)
• ESPN2 will air live quarterfinals Wednesday, June 3, at 8 a.m.  (ESPN3 begins at 5 a.m.)
• ESPN will then conclude its coverage of the French Open with the women’s semifinals live on ESPN2 on Thursday, June 4, at 9 a.m. (ESPN3 begins at 5 a.m.) If current top seeds advance, those matches will see three former French Open winners and a two-time Major champion: No. 1 and two-time winner Williams facing No. 4 and reigning Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, plus No. 7 Ana Ivanovic (the 2008 winner) vs. No. 2 Maria Sharapova, a two-time champion in Paris including last year.

Chris Fowler leads the ESPN tennis team in Paris, with Darren Cahill, seven-time French Open champ Chrissie Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Brad Gilbert and Patrick McEnroe.

Overall, for the second Major of the tennis year, ESPN2 will present 50 hours on television with nearly 300 more via ESPN3’s presentation of up to seven courts on the days ESPN2 is on the air.

French Open 2015 on ESPN2 & ESPN2 HD

French Open 2015 on ESPN3

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