Black Tennis Pros

Television coverage of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, the most attended tennis tournament outside of the four major events, will be aired on ABC, ESPN2 and Tennis Channel, it was announced today by tournament director Steve Simon.

The tournament, to be held March 7-20 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, will be televised on ESPN2 on Friday, March 18, and on ABC on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. Both networks, which signed a multi-year agreement with the tournament, will carry coverage for four hours each day. In addition, ESPN3.com will offer live streaming of the action from Saturday, March 12 through the finals on Sunday, March 20.

“We’re very pleased to bring this top-tier event back to ESPN and to have worked with ATP Media to expand the footprint of their events from coast-to-coast,” said Jason Bernstein, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions. “ESPN3.com continues to grow as a destination for tennis fans seeking the best players and events, and this agreement reaffirms ESPN3.com as the unquestioned home for live professional tennis.”

“We are extremely excited that we will be able to showcase our final weekend of tennis at the BNP Paribas Open on ABC and ESPN2,” said Simon. “Moving to ABC and ESPN2, continuing our relationship with Tennis Channel and having ESPN3.com stream all produced world feed matches, will allow us to provide consistent match coverage and ensure that viewers around the country can follow all the action.”

Tennis Channel, which signed a five-year agreement with the tournament, will cover the BNP Paribas Open from Saturday, March 12 through Thursday, March 17, for a total of eight days and 75 hours of live action, with more than 125 hours of encore coverage.

“Tennis Channel viewers expect to find the best players in the sport on our network every single week,” said David Scott, vice president, programming, Tennis Channel. “This multi-year agreement with the BNP Paribas Open is an important part of that programming strategy, and ensures that our audience will see the elite men’s and women’s tennis stars at one of the sport’s premier events each spring. We’re excited about the opportunity to put so much of this tournament on television.

Twelve women, including Americans Shenay Perry and Sloane Stephens, booked their places in the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open after winning their second-round qualifying matches on Tuesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Perry went the distance against Chinese Taipei’s Chang Kai-Chen, withstanding 16 aces off her opponent’s racquet to earn a 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(2) win in two hours and 15 minutes. The 25-year-old Perry, currently ranked No. 103, will be making her fourth appearance in the main draw. She made her best showing in 2006, when she reached the third round before falling to Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic.

Sixteen-year-old Stephens, a wild card entry in the qualification draw, cruised past Spaniard Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-1, 6-3. The 623rd-ranked Stephens is making her debut at the BNP Paribas Open. She enjoyed success in juniors last year, reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

American Angela Haynes secured her place in the BNP Paribas Open women's main draw, defeating Slovakian Jarmila Groth 6-3, 7-6(2) in the final round of qualification Tuesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The 24-year-old Californian saved all five point break points faced on serve in the second set before going on the close out the match in the tie-break.

Haynes will be playing in the Indian Wells main draw for the fourth time, having received wild card entry in her past three appearances. She reached the second round in 2005 (l. to Sharapova) and ‘08 (l. to Hantuchova).

The French contingent faltered in their qualification bid with Stephanie Foretz (pictured) the only woman from her country to make her way into the main draw. The 104th-ranked Foretz ousted compatriot Camille Pin 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes, and will be making her fifth appearance in the Indian Wells main draw. Frenchwomen Aravane Rezai, Severine Bremond, Julie Coin and Mathilde Johansson all followed Pin out of the qualification draw.

Source