NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S FIRST MATCH SINCE SHUTDOWN WILL BE LIVE ON TENNIS CHANNEL THIS WEEKEND

By 10sballs Staff
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Updated: June 12, 2020

Tennis On Television • Live Matches From Novak Djokovic New Tour And More

Network’s 2020 (Re)Open Tour Adds Djokovic’s Adria Tour Stop in Serbia,Other Events in France and the Czech Republic During the Next Week

Men’s and Women’s Stars Set to Play on Tennis Channel IncludeDominic Thiem (Men’s World No. 3), Karolina Pliskova (Women’s World No. 3),Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 6), Alexander Zverev (No. 7), Matteo Berrettini (No. 8),David Goffin (No. 10), Petra Kvitova (No. 12) and Marketa Vondrousova (No. 18)

Tennis Channel’s 2020 (Re)Open Tour will be the home of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic this weekend, when he plays his first match since the March suspension of professional tennis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The 17-time major-singles champion is scheduled to compete Saturday, June 13, in Belgrade, Serbia, live on the network. It is the first day in Djokovic’s Adria Tour, a series of weekend exhibitions in the Balkan region in June and July. It is also among several live competitions on Tennis Channel beginning June 13, including two other weekend events and another that begins Monday.

Since early May, the 2020 Re(Open) Tour has shown four live events as professionally ranked tour players gradually take to the courts again for a series of exhibitions and prize-money challenges. Within the next four days it will double that number, including three competitions that are underway Saturday, June 13, alone. In addition to Djokovic’s Adria Tour, Tennis Channel will offer live coverage of the women’s Tipsport Charity Cup in Prague and the men’s Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Cannes, France. All three take place on the weekend of June 13-14, debut rounds before they unfold during the next few weeks. Further, Monday, June 15, will see the start of the Eastern European Championship, also in Belgrade and scheduled to roll out over several weeks. Tennis Channel will have live coverage of the competition (schedule for all events below).

With Monday’s competition comes the partnership of announcer Ari Wolfe and former player and analyst Jan-Michael Gambill (@JanmikeGambill). Tennis Channel Plus, the network’s streaming service, will offer all matches on-demand following live play. Tennis Channel International will show the Adria Tour, Tipsport Charity Cup and Eastern European Championship live and on-demand.

Competition organizers will observe strict safety protocols at all venues in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Adria Tour – June 13-14, June 20-21, June 27-28, July 3-4
Based in Belgrade, Serbia, and Zadar, Croatia, the eight-man round-robin event features three of men’s tennis’ top-10 stars: Djokovic (No. 1), Dominic Thiem (No. 3) and Alexander Zverev (No. 7). Live coverage on Tennis Channel begins each day at 7 a.m. ET.

Tipsport Charity Cup – June 13-15, June 29-July 1, July 11-13, July 25-27
All matches will take place in the Czech Republic, in Prague and Prostejov. Two teams of five women will play three singles matches and one doubles match against each other every day of the event. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (No. 12) headlines one squad, with 2016 US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova (No. 3) leading the other, alongside Marketa Vondrousova (No. 18). Tennis Channel Plus will begin each day’s live competition at 6 a.m. ET before the matches shift to Tennis Channel at 8 a.m. ET.

Ultimate Tennis Showdown – June 13-14, June 20-21, June 27-28, July 4-5, July 11-12
Near Cannes, France, at the training academy of famed coach Patrick Mouratoglou, five matches will be played every Saturday and Sunday for several weeks, featuring another roster with the biggest names in men’s tennis. Among them are Stafanos Tsitsipas (No. 7), Matteo Berrettini (No. 8) and David Goffin (No. 10). Following an initial round-robin schedule, players move on to a single-elimination knockout stage. Tennis Channel’s live coverage begins at 3 p.m. each day.

Eastern European Championship – June 15-July 26
Six weeks of men’s and women’s tennis will get started next week at the Tipsarevic Academy in Belgrade, under the guidance of retired player Janko Tipsarevic. The event boasts an extensive field – 70 men and women are planning to compete – including, in the latter stages of the event, wild card Marin Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open. Live coverage on Tennis Begins at 6 am eastern time.