Chasing Roger Federer

Source: Statista

After beating Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open final, Novak Djokovic now has 17 major titles to his name, bringing him one step closer to matching Roger Federer’s Grand Slam record. Following Stan Wawrinka’s surprise win at the US Open in 2016, the “Big Three”, i.e. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, kept 13 consecutive Grand Slam titles among themselves, with Nadal and Djokovic each winning five and Federer lifting three major trophies since January 2017.

Among tennis fans, the debate as to who should be considered the GOAT (greatest of all time), has been raging for years. While Federer’s proponents like to point towards his Grand Slam record and his overall grace on and off the court, team Nadal argues that Federer cannot be considered better than Nadal (and Djokovic for that matter) when he has a losing record against him.

While it’s tough to argue against either of the three considering their achievements, Nadal matching or eclipsing Federer’s Grand Slam tally would certainly tilt the debate in his favor. As the following chart shows, Novak Djokovic is also still in the running for the Grand Slam record. The youngest of the three at 32, Djokovic has 17 Grand Slam titles to his name. Should Federer and Nadal retire before him, he could well end up having the last laugh.

2019 Wimbledon Sees 30 Percent Viewership Increase

Gentlemen’s Championship Ranks as Second Most-Viewed Tennis Telecast in ESPN History

Multiple Events Experience Summer Ratings Spike

(espnpressroom.com) The 2019 Wimbledon Championships on ESPN averaged 877,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 30% over last year (675,000), according to Nielsen. The two weeks of coverage included nearly 150 hours from London. Eleven of the 13 days experienced an increase in viewership.

The most-viewed two days came on Championship Weekend – 3,329,000 for the Gentlemen’s Championship and Ladies’ Doubles Championship on Sunday – ESPN’s second-most viewed tennis telecast in history, and an average of 1,197,000 for Saturday’s Ladies’ Championship and the Men’s Doubles Championship. Sunday’s Men’s Final telecast was the most-viewed since the Federer vs. Murray final in 2012 with 3,300,000 viewers, an increase of 211% from last year’s Men’s final telecast.

Additional Summer Event Increases

Additional ESPN summer events that have seen viewership growth:

  • Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby which averaged 6,201,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 4% over last year (5,971,000).
  • Formula 1—through ten live races this season— has averaged 677,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 18% over last year (574,000).
  • NBA Summer League games averaged 601,000 viewers on ESPN, an increase of 35% from last year.
  • NBA Summer League matchup between New Orleans and New York averaged 1,641,000 viewers (P2+), making it the most-viewed NBA Summer League game ever across ESPN networks.
  • Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest which averaged 1,153,000 viewers (P2+), an increase of 4% from last year (1,114,000).

These increases come on the heels of a tremendous June.

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