FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 19th, 2020

FEDERER VS. NADAL, VENUS WILLIAMS VS. LINDSAY DAVENPORT, & FEDERER VS. ANDY RODDICK IN EPIC FINALS HIGHLIGHT “BREAKFAST AT WIMBLEDON,” STARTING TONIGHT AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s 24 Hours of Classic Wimbledon & French Open Finals Kick Off NBC Sports From The Vault This Week

“This is the greatest match I’ve ever seen.” – John McEnroe on Federer-Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final

Venus Williams Defeated Fellow American Lindsay Davenport in Wimbledon’s Longest Ladies’ Final in 2005

NBC Sports’ Jimmy Roberts Introduces this Week’s Wimbledon Coverage, Continuing Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 19, 2020 – NBC Sports From the Vault’s “Breakfast at Wimbledon” continues with eight hours of historic Wimbledon finals, starting tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The night is highlighted by what John McEnroe called the greatest tennis match ever played – Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon gentlemen’s final.

This week, NBC Sports presents 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 introduces this week’s Wimbledon coverage, continuing tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Match presentations 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.

TUESDAY, MAY 19 – “BREAKFAST AT WIMBLEDON”

Coverage from London continues with a trio of classic Wimbledon finals from Centre Court. At 7 p.m. ET, Rafael Nadal won his first Wimbledon title, defeating five-time defending champion Roger Federer in 2008. Federer’s 2009 Wimbledon victory over Andy Roddick earned him his 15th Grand Slam title, breaking the all-time Grand Slam record held by Pete Sampras. At 1 a.m. ET, Venus Williams won her third Wimbledon singles title after defeating fellow American and world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport.

Commentators on the encore matches include: Ted Robinson and John McEnroe for the 2008 and 2009 gentlemen’s finals; and Robinson and Mary Carillo for the 2005 ladies’ final.

EVENT TIME (ET) NETWORK
2008 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final 7 p.m. NBCSN
2009 Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Final 10 p.m. NBCSN
2005 Wimbledon Ladies’ Final 1 a.m. NBCSN

 

2008 WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN’S FINAL AT 7 P.M. ET

“The greatest match I’ve ever seen,” said three-time Wimbledon singles champion John McEnroe, who called the match on NBC. Through the rain delays and darkness, the epic five set 2008 Wimbledon gentlemen’s final saw Rafael Nadal dethrone five-time defending Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7 (5), 6–7 (8), 9–7, for his first Wimbledon win.

In the third consecutive Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final, Federer battled back in the third and fourth set tiebreaks. Federer saved two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak, which he won 10-8, pushing the match to a fifth and final set. In the final set, Nadal broke Federer’s serve and then held serve to win the set, 9-7, and clinch the victory. The second-longest gentlemen’s final in Wimbledon history, the match lasted four hours and 48 minutes, stretching past 9:15 p.m. London time and 4:15 p.m. ET.

Nadal achieved the rare French Open-Wimbledon double after his 2008 victory, becoming only the third man to achieve this feat in the Open Era after Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.

2009 WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN’S FINAL AT 10 P.M. ET

In the third Federer-Roddick Wimbledon (fourth Grand Slam) final meeting, Roger Federer defeated former world No. 1 and American Andy Roddick in a thrilling five setter, 5–7, 7–6 (6), 7–6 (5), 3–6, 16–14, in 2009. Federer earned his sixth Wimbledon victory and 15th Grand Slam title, breaking the all-time Grand Slam record held by Pete Sampras.

The fifth and final set turned out to be an exhilarating battle – thirty games played over an hour and 35 minutes. Federer and Roddick were both dominant on serve throughout the first 16 games without a single break point opportunity. On match point, Federer broke Roddick’s serve for the first time in the entire match to win the tiebreak, 16-14, and clinch the victory. Roddick’s run also marked the last time a male player from the U.S. has reached a Wimbledon final.

The match lasted four hours and 18 minutes, and was the longest men’s singles final in terms of games played in Grand Slam tournament history (77 games, breaking the record of 71 games set at the 1927 Australian Open).

2005 WIMBLEDON LADIES’ FINAL AT 1 A.M. ET

In a pair of comeback tales, Venus Williams defeated compatriot and world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 9-7, for her third Wimbledon singles title in 2005. Williams became the first woman since Helen Wills Moody in 1935 to win Wimbledon after saving a match point.

Coming into the tournament, Williams was seeded 14th and had not advanced past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event in two years, while Davenport was aiming for her first Grand Slam title since 2000’s Australian Open victory. Williams’ 2005 Wimbledon victory marked her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and first since the 2001 U.S. Open.

The match was the longest ladies’ final in Wimbledon history with two hours and 45 minutes of play.

Below is each night’s highlighted content throughout the week:

    • 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–