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Tennis fans in the USA have been left infuriated by the sub-par coverage for the semifinal clashes at the 2023 French Open.
With the women's semifinals completed, all attention has turned to the upcoming men's semifinal clashes at the clay court Major. On Friday, June 9, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are set to face off in a blockbuster first semifinal, followed by the other last-four clash between Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.
Tennis Channel recently announced that the highly anticipated semifinal clash between Djokovic and Alcaraz would be broadcast exclusively on their channel. As a result, American fans won't be able to follow the match on NBC or Peacock as they had done for previous matches.
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They will require an additional subscription to Tennis Channel.
A fan denounced the Tennis Channel's announcement, suggesting that the channel's very existence was a ploy to destroy tennis in the US.
"The existence of tennis channel is an elaborate plot to kill tennis in the US confirmed," the fan tweeted.
"Doesn't take away from the fact that the coverage this RG and past years has been abysmal," another fan tweeted.
Another fan shared their frustration at the coverage for Iga Swiatek and Beatriz Haddad Maia's semifinal clash and deemed it the latest entry in the "tennis streaming wars."
"In the newest episode of Tennis Streaming Wars, Peacock, NBC, Tennis Channel, and TC Plus are all showing the Swiatek-Haddad Maia match," the fan tweeted.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg also called out Tennis Channel Plus' French Open semifinal broadcast, criticizing the almost three-minute delay in their feed.
"Tennis Channel Plus feed currently more than three minutes behind live score," he commented.
A fan lamented the lack of cable options to view the much-awaited clash:
"No tennis channel is a premium cable subscription (ESPN is not, it’s regular cable) so just can’t watch at all. Could if NBC/peacock had it instead. I think they did that for rafole the other year??" the user posted.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
French Open 2023 SF: Novak Djokovic takes on Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud faces Alexander Zverev
Novak Djokovic will be up against Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster clash in the 2023 French Open semifinal. Alcaraz won their sole previous encounter in the 2022 Madrid Open semifinals 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5), in a closely-contested encounter that lasted three hours and 38 minutes.
On the other side of the draw, Casper Ruud will take on Alexander Zverev for a spot in the final. Zverev leads 2-1 in his head-to-head against the Norwegian. However, each of their three matches so far have been on hardcourts, making their upcoming clash in Paris their first meeting on clay.
Ruud will be looking to advance to his second consecutive final at the French Open. Meanwhile, Zverev will be on the hunt for his maiden appearance in the Roland Garros final having reached the semifinals in 2021 and 2022 as well.
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