Channel Nine grabs top tennis players for Fast4 tennis format
Federer will appear in the first Fast4 match
The Nine Network is pouncing on the annual surge in tennis viewing with a new short-format tennis tournament launch on January 12 with Roger Federer appearing in the first match.
The Fast4 tournament, launched in conjunction with Tennis Australia, is being launched as rival Seven gears up for the Australian Open which starts the week after, while it is already showing the Hopman Cup warm up tournament.
Federer will face Australian Lleyton Hewitt in Sydney next Monday, before Spaniard Rafael Nadal takes on three players at an event in Melbourne on January 14. The format is intended to be much quicker, with no advantage scores, lets are played, tie-breakers apply at three games all, and the first to four games wins the set
Nine Network’s head of sport, Steve Crawley, said: “Big names, fast games. At Nine’s Wide World of Sports we can’t wait to showcase this stunning new tennis format.”
FAST4 Matches on Channel 9
Monday, January 12, 2015
7:30pm –Sydney, Melbourne (LIVE)
7:30pm local time – Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney
Marquee match: Roger Federer vs Lleyton Hewitt
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
7:30pm – Sydney, Melbourne (LIVE)
7:30pm local time – Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne
Rafael Nadal will face a formidable trio, playing one set against both Mark Philippoussis and reigning US Open Junior champion Omar Jasika, and the best of five sets against former world No.7 Fernando Verdasco
Tennis getting Big Bashed :O
Not good camera work ALSO WHERE ARE THE SCORES DURING THE MATCH?????
Can somebody pass onto the fast 4 tennis organisers that the rules should also include only ONE DOUBLE FAULT permitted per game. From then on a single fault will cause the server to lose the point. This will increase the pressure, speed up the format, cause many more upsets in tennis and partially neutralise the advantage of the server to give the format a significant difference compared to the traditional game!
Doesn’t channel 9 seriously think that any sane tennis fan is going to believe thus bullshit? Hewitt V Federer – even score just 5 minutes ago
No offence to Hewitt but come on!