NBCSN’s 24 Hours of Classic Wimbledon & French Open Finals Kick Off NBC Sports From The Vault This Week
Relive the Borg-McEnroe “Fire and Ice” Rivalry with One of the Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time – the 1980 Wimbledon Gentleman’s Final
NBC Sports’ Jimmy Roberts Will Introduce this Week’s Wimbledon Coverage, Starting Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 18, 2020 – The first two nights of this week’s NBC Sports From the Vault coverage feature “Breakfast at Wimbledon,” 16 hours of nostalgic Wimbledon finals, beginning tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. With a combined total of 28 Wimbledon singles titles, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi highlight tonight’s tennis matches.
This week, NBC Sports will be presenting nearly 55 hours of classic sports events from the past 40 years, featuring Notre Dame Football, the Orange Bowl, MLB classics, Wimbledon, French Open, PGA TOUR and Ryder Cup.
NBC Sports’ Jimmy Roberts will introduce this week’s Wimbledon coverage, starting tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Match presentations will include a specialized ticker featuring live tweets. Fans can tweet #NBCSNVault for the chance to see their tweets live on air.
Programming will also stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
MONDAY, MAY 18 – “BREAKFAST AT WIMBLEDON”
Tonight’s action highlights eight hours of classic Wimbledon finals from the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London. The Williams sisters kick off tonight’s coverage at 7 p.m. ET with Serena earning her second-straight Wimbledon title by defeating older sister, Venus, in the 2003 final.
The 1980 Wimbledon gentlemen’s final produced what was regarded as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time – Bjorn Borg’s victory over John McEnroe in an epic five-setter. At 12:30 a.m. ET, Pete Sampras defeated fellow American Andre Agassi in a near-perfect performance in the 1999 Wimbledon gentlemen’s final.
Commentators on the encore matches include: Ted Robinson and Mary Carillo for the 2003 ladies’ final; Don Criqui, Bud Collins and Donald Dell for the 1980 gentlemen’s final; and McEnroe, Collins and Dick Enberg for the 1999 gentlemen’s final.
| EVENT | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| 2003 Wimbledon Ladies’ Final | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| 1980 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final | 9:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| 1999 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final | 12:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
2003 WIMBLEDON LADIES’ FINAL AT 7 P.M. ET
In 2003, Serena Williams defended her 2002 Wimbledon title by defeating sister, Venus Williams, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 – one of only two three-set Grand Slam finals the sisters have played in nine major final meetings. This also marked the sixth time in eight Grand Slam finals that Serena and Venus went head-to-head. Serena’s 2003 Wimbledon win was her sixth career Grand Slam and 23rd career title.
1980 WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN’S FINAL AT 9:30 P.M. ET
Relive the Borg-McEnroe “Fire and Ice” rivalry in the 1980 Wimbledon gentleman’s final. From Centre Court, four-time defending Wimbledon champion, Bjorn Borg, successfully defended his title to defeat American rival and second-seeded John McEnroe in a thrilling five-setter, 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7 (16), 8–6.
Arguably the greatest tie-break in Wimbledon history, the fourth-set tiebreaker in the 1980 final, lasted 22 minutes and produced 34 contested points. McEnroe saved five championship points and won the tie-break, 18-16, that pushed the match to a fifth and final set.
Borg would go on to win the final set of the match for his fifth-straight Wimbledon title, while McEnroe’s first Wimbledon final appearance resulted in a runner-up finish.
1999 WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN’S FINAL AT 12:30 A.M. ET
In an all-American rivalry, two-time defending Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras gave one of the greatest performances in a Wimbledon final when he defeated 1999 French Open champion Andre Agassi, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5, in 1999. At the time, Sampras extended his career record against Agassi to 14-10, including 3-1 in Grand Slam finals.
Surpassing Bjorn Borg’s Open Era record of five Wimbledon titles, Sampras earned his sixth win at Wimbledon and tied Roy Emerson‘s record of 12 career Grand Slam titles.
Below is each night’s highlighted content throughout the week:
- Monday, May 18: “Breakfast at Wimbledon”
- Tuesday, May 19: “Breakfast at Wimbledon”
- Wednesday, May 20: French Open
- Thursday, May 21: Notre Dame Football
- Friday, May 22: MLB Classics
- Saturday, May 23: PGA TOUR (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and Ryder Cup
- Sunday, May 24: PGA TOUR (THE PLAYERS Championship) and Ryder Cup
--NBC SPORTS--
