Roger Federer fans, take heart: At least you can watch live tennis tomorrow. Starting at 7 A.M. Eastern Time, Tennis Channel will show the first men’s French Open semifinal live (Robin Soderling vs. Tomas Berdych). NBC, which owns the rights to both semifinals, will begin its coverage at 11 A.M., when Rafael Nadal is scheduled to play Jurgen Melzer. The move has much to do with Federer’s absence from the tournament. Soderling and Berdych won’t drive ratings, so there’s no harm in allowing Tennis Channel to broadcast live as NBC airs Today. Last year, NBC chose to show Soderling vs. Fernando Gonzalez on tape delay, starting at 10 A.M. Eastern, rather than Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro, who were playing live at the same time. The network said the decision gave it a better chance of airing a completed match in its time window. Fans and the media harshly criticized NBC as Federer and del Potro played a superb five-set match that wasn’t aired until later that afternoon by Tennis Channel.
—Tom Perrotta