BRISTOL, Conn.(AP) ESPN Classic will air live coverage of the May 17 exhibition matches under Wimbledon's new Centre Court roof.
Past Wimbledon champions - and married couple - Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are scheduled to play, as are Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters. The event is being called ``A Centre Court Celebration'' and will be a test of the All England Club's new retractable roof and ventilation system.
ESPN Classic will air 3 1/2 hours of the British Broadcasting Corp. feed, starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The matches also will be shown on ESPN360.com.
Why do it? It is simple: The venue is a citadel,'' ESPN senior VP Len DeLuca said in a telephone interview.Wimbledon is spoken of properly in the same paragraph as Augusta, as Yankee Stadium, as the Rose Bowl. And, obviously, the roof experiment is a news item.''
The schedule includes a men's singles match, a women's singles match and a mixed doubles match.
Wimbledon begins June 22.