Strokes of Genius nominated for Sports Emmys

Tennis Channel's first-ever full length feature film Strokes of Genius has earned two Sports Emmy nominations.

The film is nominated in the Outstanding Long Sports Documentary category and the Outstanding Musical Direction category. The winners will be announced at the 40th Annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony on May 20 in New York City.

The other nominees for Outstanding Long Sports Documentary include Crossroads, Shot in the Dark, MomentumGeneration and Love Means Zero, which centers on Nick Bollettieri and the very beginnings of his academy. Tennis is well-represented this year with Being Serena nominated for three awards, including Outstanding Musical Direction.

Strokes of Genius tells the story of the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael. The musical score was written by composer Jeremy Turner. The film is based on the 2009 book Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever by Jon Wertheim, who co-produced the documentary.

"I really feel like their rivalry is really special because of the contrast of styles, just what they brought," Novak Djokovic said at last year's US Open. "I think I'm still under the impression of the Strokes of Genius I watched a couple days ago, that was really cool. I saw that. I was glued to TV, watching Rafa and Roger, that kind of documentary—really celebrating the greatness that they really are."

Strokes of Genius weaves match footage, exclusive photos, personal videos, an original-music score, story-supporting graphics and revealing conversations with players, family members and Hall of Famers to compare the ongoing rivalry between Federer and Nadal, largely considered one of the greatest in sports history.

"They were both so cooperative with the book and the documentary," Wertheim said. "They were great in terms of saying, we're not going to stop you, ask me what you want to ask. This isn't a project that they are part of necessarily, so it's not like one of these authorized biographies. But they were both so generous with their time."

Tennis Channel network announcer Ian Eagle is nominated in the Outstanding Sports Personality — Play-by-Play award.

Strokes of Genius is available on demand on Tennis Channel and iTunes.