Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Balls Channel airs US Open
ON OPENING Night of the 2008 US Open, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) will kick off a two-week celebration commemorating 40 years of Open Tennis with a special on-court ceremony featuring past US Open singles champions.
It was 40 years ago, in 1968, that tournaments opened their doors to professionals and amateurs alike, ushering in the Open Era and altering the course of tennis history.
Since then, Open tennis has changed the US Open in as many ways as the US Open has changed tennis.
It paved the way for equal participation and equal prize money, which the US Open awarded for the first time in 1973 - the first Grand Slam to award equal prize money to men and women.
In 1968, Arthur Ashe turned away Tom Okker to win the first official US Open. Ashe was the first African-American to win the US Open/US Nationals, just one of the many firsts over the last 40 years.
It has been a spectacular ride - 40 years of Open tennis, countless memories.
Dubbed the toughest event in the tennis calendar, the US Open is the final Grand Slam of the season.
Staged in the famous hard-courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, the US Open attracts the biggest stars and the most exciting up and comers in tennis.
Balls Channel will be airing live and exclusive updates from August 25 to September 8.
Following are the live telecast of the US Open on Balls:
August 25 to September 4 -- starting 11 p.m.
September 6 -- 12 midnight
September 7 -- 12 midnight
September 8 -- 1 a.m.
Replays will be on:
August 27 to 30 -- 4 p.m.
August 31 to September 1 -- 3 p.m.
September 2 to 6 -- 4 p.m.
September 7 -- 1 p.m.
September 8 -- 9 p.m.
The delayed telecast is on Studio 23:
August 26 -- 2 to 6 p.m.
August 27 to 29 -- 8 a.m. to 12 noon
September 1 to 2 -- 2 to 6 p.m.
September 3 to 5 -- 8 a.m. to 12 noon
September 8 to 9 -- 2 to 6 p.m. (Press release)
