Australian Open 2015: Draw Schedule, Dates, Times, Live Stream Info and More
It should have come as no surprise that both Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were named the top seeds in the men's and women's draws, respectively, at the 2015 Australian Open. Both are currently ranked No. 1 in the world and are multiple-time winners in Melbourne.
The march toward crowning champions begins on Monday, Jan. 19. Play is scheduled to culminate on Feb. 1. Here's a link to the schedule of play on the tournament's official website.
In the United States, television coverage will be handled by ESPN and The Tennis Channel. Here's a look at the entire scheduled coverage on both networks. Viewers in other parts of the world can look here for the network that will broadcast the tournament.
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| ESPN | ||
| Mon., Jan. 19 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Tues., Jan. 20 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Wed., Jan. 21 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Thurs., Jan. 22 | 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Fri., Jan. 23 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Sat., Jan. 24 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sat., Jan. 24 | 3 a.m. - 7 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sun., Jan. 25 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sun., Jan. 25 | 3 a.m. - 6:30 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Mon., Jan. 26 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Mon., Jan. 26 | 3 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Tues., Jan. 27 | 9 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Tues., Jan. 27 | 3:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Wed., Jan. 28 | 9:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Women's semifinals |
| Wed., Jan. 28 | 3:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Men's semifinal No. 1 |
| Thurs., Jan. 29 | 3:30 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Men's semifinal No. 2 |
| Fri., Jan 30 | 3 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. | Women's championship |
| Sat., Jan. 31 | 3 a.m. - 6:30 a.m. | Men's championship |
| Date | Time (ET) | Event |
| Mon., Jan. 19 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Tues., Jan. 20 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Wed., Jan. 21 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Thurs., Jan. 22 | 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Fri., Jan. 23 | 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. | Early round play |
| Sat., Jan. 24 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sat., Jan. 24 | 3 a.m. - 7 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sun., Jan. 25 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Sun., Jan. 25 | 3 a.m. - 6:30 a.m. | Round of 16 |
| Mon., Jan. 26 | 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Mon., Jan. 26 | 3 a.m. - 6 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Tues., Jan. 27 | 9 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Wed., Jan. 28 | 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. | Quarterfinals |
| Thurs., Jan. 29 | 11 p.m. - 3:30 a.m. | Semifinals/mixed doubles semis |
| Fri., Jan. 30 | 11 p.m. - 3:00 a.m. | Women's semifinals/men's semifinals/women's doubles finals |
| Sat., Jan 31 | 5:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. | Men's doubles final/men's semifinals/women's doubles finals |
| Sun., Feb. 1 | 12 a.m. - 2 a.m. | Mixed doubles finals/women's final/men's final/ |
In the event you can't watch on TV, every match is viewable via live stream on the Watch ESPN app.
In 2014, Djokovic had his string of consecutive Australian Open titles snapped at three when he fell to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals. It seems clear from this tweet that Djokovic is locked in and mentally prepared to be crowned champion again.
The trek begins on Tuesday when he faces qualifier Aljaz Bedene. The 25-year-old Slovenian defeated Poland’s Michal Przysiezny. A week before the start of the Aussie Open, Bedene reached the final of the ATP Chennai Open before losing to Wawrinka.
With a good measure of recent success serving as a motivator, Bedene seems confident heading into his match with Djokovic, per his Twitter account.
We'll see how long that lasts. Djokovic hasn't lost in the first round of any Grand Slam event since he fell in the opening match at the 2006 Australian Open. Bedene will have an uphill climb.
The first match for Williams figures to be just as one sided. The future Hall of Famer faces Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck. The 20-year-old has very little Grand Slam experience and will probably have a tough time matching Williams' power and dominant serve.
The main match most are hoping to see on the women's side is a battle between Williams and world No. 2 Maria Sharapova. You'd like to call this pairing a rivalry, but Williams has dominated. She is 16-2 against Sharapova. Thus the "r" word really doesn't seem to apply.
Sharapova has been on a roll lately. She won the Brisbane Invitational and has drawn within 681 points of Williams for the No. 1 ranking. Williams on the other hand has struggled. She lost two of her four matches at the Hopman Cup the first week of the year, and that creates a concern.
That said, the 33-year-old always seems to get up for matches against Sharapova.
Former tennis great Lindsay Davenport talked about Williams' special motivation against Sharapova, per Bruce Matthews of Fox Sports:
"You see when they play, Serena is always focused, always concentrated and a player that likes the ball she’s getting. And so, you want to bottle that if you’re in Serena’s camp as to how she plays against Maria each and every time because she’s at her best against her. For whatever reason, Maria gets under Serena’s skin. Serena is always at her best against her because in her mind, she almost refuses to lose.
"
Whatever the case or reason, there's no doubting the results Williams gets when she plays Sharapova. Both women have to win their way into an epic title match against each other, but it would great to see them battle for a 19th time.
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