Australian Open 2012 TV Schedule: Epic Men's Final 4 Can't Be Missed
It isn't often you get a clear-cut top four in a sport, and it's even more rare that those four get to face one another in one of the sport's premier events.
But that's just what we have remaining in the men's draw of the Australian Open.
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If I need to tell you how compelling the matchup between Roger Federer and Rafaell Nadal is—the two best players in the last decade of tennis—you probably live under a rock, and that rock doesn't have a cable hook-up, thus preventing you from watching ESPN.
Nadal is 17-9 against Federer, has won six of the eight Grand Slam finals the two have faced each other in and has won the only previous meeting of the two at the Australian Open.
But Federer has won the Australian four times and crushed Nadal the last time the two met in 2011 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, 6-3 6-0.
Add to the history the fact that the pair are "feuding" after Nadal made some comments about wanting Federer to more vocally support longer rest times for the players, and you've got yourself a compelling match.
This rematch from the 2011 Australian Open Final asks one compelling question: Can one man get over the top, or will the other man stay there?
Murray had an excellent 2011, reaching the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events. Of course, Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam titles in 2011 and was questionably the best player in the world last year.
So can Andy Murray battle past Djokovic into the final and finally get his Grand Slam title? Or will Djokovic end up one step closer to another Grand Slam title and continue his epic 2011?
This will be no cakewalk for Djokovic, good as he's played recently—he's 6-4 lifetime against Murray.
Here's the rest of the Australian Open schedule:
| Date | Round | Time | Network |
| Wed., Jan. 25 | Doubles | 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. | Tennis Channel |
| Wed., Jan. 25 | Women Semifinals | 9:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Thu., Jan. 26 | Men Semifinals | 3:30 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Thu., Jan. 26 | Women Doubles Final | 11 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. | Tennis Channel |
| Fri., Jan. 27 | Men Semifinals | 3:30 a.m. to 6:a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Sat., Jan. 28 | Women Final | 3:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Sat., Jan. 28 | Men Doubles Final | 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. | Tennis Channel |
| Sun., Jan. 29 | Mixed Doubles Final | 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. | Tennis Channel |
| Sun., Jan. 29 | Men Final | 3:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. | ESPN2 |
For re-air times, be sure to check out this schedule from Sports Illustrated.
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