ESPN earned a 1.8 fast national rating and 3.2 million viewers Sunday for Novak Djokovic’s four-set win over Roger Federer in the men’s final of the U.S. Open. The final was delayed by more than three hours due to rain and aired head-to-head with NBC’s “SNF.” The tourney this year was broadcast exclusively on ESPN. CBS finished with a 1.6 rating and 2.2 million viewers for Marin Cilic’s straight-set win over Kei Nishikori in last year’s men’s final, which aired on a Monday. On the women’s side, ESPN earned a 1.1 fast national rating and 1.6 million viewers for Saturday’s Flavia Pennetta-Roberta Vinci final. CBS last year finished with a 2.9 rating and 4.5 million viewers for Serena Williams’ win over Caroline Wozniacki (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer).
PRESS PASS: USA TODAY's Nick McCarvel asked of ESPN's in-match interviews with players during the tourney, "Was this a case of too much too soon?" Coco Vandeweghe participated in a first-round interview with ESPN's Pam Shriver, but there were "no more" for the remainder of the tourney. Other players "seemed sour to the idea." McCarvel: "Will the network try again next year?" (USA TODAY, 9/14). SI.com's Jon Wertheim wrote, "So long as the players have a right of refusal, I don't see how it's a problem. And I applaud ESPN for the innovation." Meanwhile, Wertheim wrote having ABC's Robin Roberts host the women's trophy presentation "would have been a great idea" if Williams had won. But having a "non-tennis type to interview two relatively little-known Italians made for some awkward television." And that was before Pennetta "sprung the retirement announcement." Wertheim: "No one is to blame, but it was unfortunate than an outsider was put in that position" (SI.com, 9/14).
LAUGHING THROUGH THE PAIN: Last night’s edition of Comedy Central’s “The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” featured a segment called “Black Tennis Roundup.” Host Larry Wilmore said of Williams losing in the semifinals, “Serena lost! Dammit! Alright, this has been ‘Black Tennis Roundup.’ Oh wait, apparently there’s more black tennis news. You’ve got to be f-ing kidding me. Guys, we never have black tennis news plural.” The broadcast then aired news footage of former tennis player James Blake being taken down by a N.Y. plains-clothed policeman, with Wilmore noting, “Wait a second, how did this get into black tennis news? This is just black news” (“The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore,” Comedy Central, 9/15).
