First-Time Major Winner Guaranteed as Young Guns Emerge

Men’s Doubles Championship at Noon on ESPN2 

The familiar names of men who have dominated men’s tennis for the last 15-20 years are missing and new, exciting players have taken their place in the final four at the US Open, to be contested today, Friday, Sept. 9, on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET and 7 p.m.

The afternoon match will see No. 5 seed Casper Ruud (age 23) and No. 27 Karen Khachanov (26) squaring off in the semifinal on one side of the draw while the prime-time offering has No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz (age 19) playing No. 22 Frances Tiafoe of Maryland (24) on the other side.  Both duels will also be seen live on ESPN Deportes.  Of the four men, only Ruud has played in a Major semifinal; he was runner up at this year’s French Open.

Hall of Famer Cliff Drysdale will lead the commentary on Ruud vs. Khachanov with Gilbert alongside and James Blake courtside.  Chris Fowler and John McEnroe will be in the booth this evening with Patrick McEnroe contributing from the sideline.  Chris McKendry hosts ESPN tennis from the Fountain Plaza set.

The US Open Men’s Championship will be contested on ESPN on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m.

Men’s Doubles Championship Today at Noon

Earlier on ESPN2 at noon, the Men’s Doubles Championship will be decided between the top two seeds:  No. 1 Rajeev Ram of Indiana and Joe Salisbury of the United Kingdom, vs. No. 2 Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands with Neal Skupski of the United Kingdom.  Of the two teams, Ram and Salisbury have teamed to win two Major titles in doubles – the 2020 Australian Open and last year’s US Open – while neither Koolhof nor Skupski have none.  Darren Cahill will call the action joined by Brad Gilbert in the booth.  Jason Goodall will report from the sideline.

2022 US Open on ESPN

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