Maria Sharapova vs. Simona Halep Headlines Opening Night US OPEN Coverage on ESPN

The long-anticipated return of five-time Major champion Maria Sharapova to a Grand Slam tournament - across the net from an opponent no less than the No. 2 SEED Simona Halep - headlines opening night under the stars - and in front of an Arthur Ashe Stadium full of stars - on ESPN2 on Monday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. ET. That match will be followed by 20-year old Alexander "Sascah" Zverev, the No. 4 SEED from Germany, playing Darian King of Barbados.

ESPN2's live coverage of the opening Monday night will include a performance from Arthur Ashe Stadium by Shania Twain. Actor and tennis fan Alec Baldwin will once again host Opening Night.

Earlier in the day (on ESPN3 at 11 a.m., ESPN at 1 p.m.), key players in action include Wimbledon champ and No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza, two-time Wimbledon winner No. 13 Petra Kvitova, 2014 US Open champ No. 5 Marin Cilic, seven-time Major champion Venus Williams and her fellow Americans No. 10 John Isner, Sloane Stephens and No. 13 Jack Sock.

ESPN has exclusive live action to the US Open beginning Monday, Aug. 28, with 130 hours on television and 1,300 more on ESPN3 and streaming on the ESPN app. The daily action from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will culminate with the Women's Championship on Saturday, Sept. 9, and the Men's Championship on Sunday, Sept. 10, both at 4 p.m. ET.

Looking ahead to Tuesday's play, No. 1 SEED Rafael Nadal will play the third match on Ashe, likely in late afternoon, against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia. That night, the prime-time doubleheader will feature American and No. 15 Madison Keys facing Elise Mertens of Belgium, followed by No. 3 Roger Federer against Francis Tiafoe, the highly touted 19-year old from Maryland.

Day One Matchups

ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - 11 a.m.

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R1: Varvara Lepchenko (USA) vs. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [3]

MEN'S SINGLES - R1: Tennys Sandgren (USA) vs. Marin Cilic (CRO) [5]

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R1: Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) vs. Venus Williams (USA) [9]

ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM - 7 p.m.

2017 US OPEN OPENING CEREMONY

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R1: Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Simona Halep (ROU) [2]

MEN'S SINGLES - R1: Darian King (BAR) vs. Alexander Zverev (GER) [4]

LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM - 11 a.m.

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R1: Petra Kvitova (CZE) [13] vs. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

MEN'S SINGLES - R1 (not before: 1 p.m.): Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) vs. John Isner (USA) [10]

WOMEN'S SINGLES - R1: Sloane Stephens (USA) vs. Roberta Vinci (ITA)

MEN'S SINGLES - R1 (not before 5 p.m.): Jack Sock (USA) [13] vs. Jordan Thompson (AUS)

ESPN & the 2017 US Open

Date	Time (ET)	Event	Network(s)
Mon Aug 28	11 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	6 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN2
	7 p.m.	Primetime at the US Open presented by IBM - First Round	ESPN2
Tue Aug 29	11 a.m. 1 p.m.	US Open First Round	ESPN3 ESPN
	7 p.m.	Primetime at the US Open presented by IBM - First Round

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