Sport and Cinema.com

In what will what likely go down as one of the more memorable matches in tennis history, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defeated Spain’s Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 on Sunday to win the Australian Open in the longest Grand Slam final of the Open Era. The top-ranked Djokovic won his third consecutive major title and third Australian Open.

In time for the holiday shopping rush comes the entire set of thirty films now combined into one DVD package (and available on Blu-ray) from ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series, a compelling “television film festival”. The 30 for 30 Limited Edition Collector Set is packaged in a collectible box & contains 30 for 30 Gift Sets Volume 1 & Volume 2 as well as an exclusive retro ESPN hat featuring the company’s original logo.

ESPN Films, creators of the Emmy-nominated and Peabody award-winning 30 for 30 film series, has announced the schedule for a slate of new films. The film series will begin airing Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD, and subsequent Tuesday nights throughout the fall. Films include Catching Hell, Renée, The Dotted Line, Unguarded, The Real Rocky, Charismatic and Roll Tide/War Eagle.

Tribeca, in partnership with ESPN Films, has announced a summer sale offering for the first time a handful of independent sports films to over 40 million homes via VOD.

Now in play and running through May 1st, Tribeca, with partner ESPN, present a compelling and diverse slate of sports documentary films in its 10th annual gathering throughout New York City.

Authors Tobias Moskowitz and Jon Wertheim present an intriguing guide to a wide array of both complex and heretofore seemingly mundane topics that go far beyond the scoreboard to help fans get at the truths of sports

The first time Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova stepped onto a tennis court together, the world scarcely noticed. Only a few hundred spectators saw the pert 18-year-old beat the scrappy 16-year-old Czech in 1973.

“I remember that she was fat,” Evert recalled. “She was very emotional on the court, whining if she didn’t feel she was playing well. But I remember thinking, if she loses weight, we’re all in trouble.”

It is a tough criteria, some play longer seasons, others go solo, a few operate complex machinery while others merely navigate their bodies through wind or water.

The American leg of the tennis grand slam begins play today on the hard courts of the USTA National Tennis Center in New York.

On the men’s side, history and Roger Federer once again is the lead story.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal returns to ABC with a new reality series.

Debuting August 18th, in “Shaq TV” the 15-time NBA All-Star will pit his athletic skills against an interesting array of opponents in their sport specialty.