ESPN shift in Australian Open coverage challenging for fans

By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer

Tennis fans used to staying up through the night to watch the Australian Open have had to change their viewing habits and are having trouble finding some of the matches they want to see. ESPN has dramatically reduced the amount of coverage on ESPN2 during the first week of the first Grand Slam event of the year, leaving the overnight hours exclusively on its ESPN+ streaming service. ESPN+ is supposed to have all the matches available live but it has experienced technical problems over the first couple of days. Fans were particularly upset the second-round match between Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe could not be viewed on any platform.