• First-Ever Distribution of Wimbledon Qualifying also underway on ESPN3

Leading up to The 2017 Championships, Wimbledon on Monday, July 3 at 7 a.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Classic will air a week-long marathon of historic Wimbledon matches beginning today, Monday, June 26, at 6 a.m., ending  at 6 a.m., one hour before ESPN’s live coverage from the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.

About the ESPN Classic Marathon

• The marathon runs for exactly one week, 168 hours from 40 classic Wimbledon matches (33 of which are finals), plus re-airs
• The marathon ends July 3 with last year’s Championships (Ladies’ – Serena Williams vs. Angelique Kerber – 1:30-3:30 a.m., Gentlemen’s – Andy Murray vs. Milos Raonic – 3:30-6 a.m.).
• The oldest Gentlemen’s match is the 1977 Gentlemen’s Championships, Bjorn Borg vs. Jimmy Connors, June 26 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and July 1 from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; the oldest Ladies’ match is the 1982 Ladies’ Championships, Martina Navratilova vs. Andrea Jaeger, June 30 from 10-11:30 p.m.

Matches to Watch

• Two airings of Roger Federer vs. Pete Sampras in the 2001 Gentlemen’s Round of 16 in five sets (7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5), the only time the two legends ever played. June 27 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and July 3 from 2:30-4:30 a.m.
• Two airings of Venus Williams vs. Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Ladies’ Championship (4-6, 7-6, 9-7) that lasted two hours and 45 minutes, making it the longest women’s singles final in Wimbledon history. June 28 from 2-4 a.m. and July 2 from 5-7 p.m.
• Two airings of Goran Ivanisevic vs. Pat Rafter in the 2001 Gentlemen’s Championship in five sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7) where Ivanisevic had entered the draw via a wild card and went on to win. June 27 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. and July 2 from 6:30-8:30 a.m.
• Two airings of Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick in the legendary, five-set 2009 Gentlemen’s Championship (5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14) Federer’s 15th Grand Slam title that surpassed Pete Sampras for the most Major wins of all time. June 28 from 5-10 p.m. and June 29 from 10 p.m.-3 a.m.
• Two airings of Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams in the 2002 Ladies’ Championship (6-7, 3-6), Serena’s first Wimbledon victory which earned her the world No. 1 ranking for the first time, dethroning Venus. June 27 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and July 2 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Wimbledon Qualifying
Beginning today, ESPN is covering all four days of Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s qualifying for The Championships, Wimbledon for the first time, with all-day action from one of the grass courts at the Bank of England Sports Centre in Roehampton, not far from Wimbledon and the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Qualifying will take place through  Thursday, June 29, beginning each day at 6 a.m. with four matches scheduled per day on ESPN3 on WatchESPN and the ESPN App.

The Championships, Wimbledon
ESPN’s exclusive coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon – from first ball to last ball – begins Monday, July 3, with 140 hours on TV and 1,500 on ESPN3 and streaming live on the ESPN App with action from all 15 televised courts.  The action will climax with the Ladies’ Championship and the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Doubles Championships on ESPN on Saturday, July 15, and the Gentlemen’s Championship on Sunday, July 16, followed by the Mixed Doubles Championship.

-30-