·         Much-Anticipated Meeting Peaks at 5.6; Serena only Two Wins from Grand Slam

·         Entire 5+-hour Telecast Scores a 2.7 Overnight Rating – ESPN’s Second Best for Tennis

·         2.7 Rating only Exceeded by 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final where Federer Defeated Murray (3.1)

·         Tuesday Sets Tennis Record for WatchESPN for Third Time during US Open

Last night’s US Open quarterfinal on ESPN –the much-anticipated 27^th meeting between top-seeded Serena Williams and No. 23 Venus Williams –earned a 4.8 rating, peaking at a 5.6 from 10-10:15 p.m. ET. The entire 5:15 telecast (including a second match, Novak Djokovic over Feliciano Lopez) scored a 2.7 from Nielsen’s metered markets, the second best for tennis in ESPN history (any ESPN network). The only higher overnight rating for tennis was the 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship – Roger Federer over Andy Murray – with a 3.1. The 2.7 is 145% higher than the 1.1 earned by the same time slot last year.

Among the metered markets, West Palm Beach led the way with a 4.8 for the entire telecast, followed by New York (4.7), Atlanta (4.5), Richmond (4.1) and Washington DC (4.0) Eleven markets set a new high for tennis on an ESPN network: New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, Miami, Louisville, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Sacramento and Nashville.

It was also a record day for tennis on WatchESPN – the third of the US Open to date – with 612,000 users totaling 44.8 million minutes viewed. The previous best came Monday, with 447,000 users and 40.3 million minutes.

The victory leaves Serena just two wins shy of a true (calendar year) Grand Slam – a sweep of the sport’s four Major events – not accomplished since Steffi Graf in 1988. The women’s semifinals – including Williams vs. unseeded 32-year old Roberta Vinci – are on ESPN on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. The women’s championship is Saturday at 3 p.m.; the men’s semifinals – including No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 9 Marin Cilic, defending a Major title for the first time – are Friday at 3 p.m. with the championship Sunday at 4 p.m. – all on ESPN.

ESPN3’s offering of all televised courts – plus a feed in Spanish – is supplemented through the finals by the “US Open Chase Review Multicam” for matches on Ashe – an iso-cam on each player and the traditional TV production.

ESPN has televised the US Open since 2009. An 11-year agreement with the USTA for exclusivity was announced in May 2013. A complete look at ESPN’s plans for the 2015 US Open including the daily schedule ( http://es.pn/1ECwZws ), a look at new technology ( http://es.pn/1MzW0yM ) and a conference call on programming and production plans (  http://es.pn/1PoHn0D ).

ESPN & the 2015 US Open

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