Last night's US Open quarterfinal on ESPN -the much-anticipated 27th meeting between top-seeded Serena Williams and No. 23 Venus Williams -earned a 4.8 rating, peaking at a 5.6 from 10-10:15 p.m. ET.
The entire 5:15 telecast (including a second match, Novak Djokovic over Feliciano Lopez) scored a 2.7 from Nielsen's metered markets, the second best for tennis in
ESPN history (any
ESPN network). The only higher overnight rating for tennis was the 2012 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship - Roger Federer over Andy Murray - with a 3.1. The 2.7 is 145% higher than the 1.1 earned by the same time slot last year.
Among the metered markets, West Palm Beach led the way with a 4.8 for the entire telecast, followed by New York (4.7), Atlanta (4.5), Richmond (4.1) and Washington DC (4.0) Eleven markets set a new high for tennis on an
ESPN network: New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, Miami, Louisville, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Sacramento and Nashville.
It was also a record day for tennis on WatchESPN - the third of the US Open to date - with 612,000 users totaling 44.8 million minutes viewed. The previous best came Monday, with 447,000 users and 40.3 million minutes.
The victory leaves Serena just two wins shy of a true (calendar year) Grand Slam - a sweep of the sport's four Major events - not accomplished since Steffi Graf in 1988. The women's semifinals - including Williams vs. unseeded 32-year old Roberta Vinci - are on
ESPN on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. The women's championship is Saturday at 3 p.m.; the men's semifinals - including No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 9 Marin Cilic, defending a Major title for the first time - are Friday at 3 p.m. with the championship Sunday at 4 p.m. - all on ESPN.
ESPN3's offering of all televised courts - plus a feed in Spanish - is supplemented through the finals by the "US Open Chase Review Multicam" for matches on Ashe - an iso-cam on each player and the traditional TV production.
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