Ken Solomon, the chairman and CEO of the Tennis Channel, didn’t worry much about the Grand Slams when he took over the company two years ago. The tennis season is long, and the same players who compete at the four majors do battle an additional 38 to 40 weeks a year. Show those events, like last month’s Monte Carlo Masters and the Rome Masters that began this week, Solomon thought, and the channel would succeed.

“It was such a long shot that I convinced myself we didn’t need them,” Solomon said. “But the world didn’t see it that way.”

To this day, most of the America hasn’t seen or perhaps even heard of the Tennis Channel, which is available to roughly 10 million households — about a tenth of the audience of ESPN. But that’s going to change at the end of this month, when the channel begins broadcasting its first major tournament at the French Open.

Since it locked up the rights to the tournament last year, the channel has cut a deal with DirecTV and other providers that Solomon said will increase its reach to 50 million viewers for the

length of the tournament. The channel will resell much of its allotted time to ESPN, and at next year’s Australian Open, the two channels will switch roles, with ESPN holding the rights and the Tennis Channel tagging along. The U.S. Open may not be far off: the United States Tennis Association invested in the Tennis Channel last year and could switch cable partners when its current contract with USA Networks runs its course in a few years (this week, the USTA disclosed that it had negotiated a new deal with its chief partner, CBS, through 2011 for less guaranteed money, but with revenue sharing).

When the Tennis Channel’s deal with the French Open was announced, thousands of tennis fans in America no doubt cringed at the news. The deal could mean one thing and one thing only: Tennis was in decline yet again. Once popular on national networks before becoming almost exclusively a product of cable television (save portions of three majors and a few other U.S. tournaments), it was now no longer good enough for the largest sports network in the country. But the way this deal has shaped up gives fans cause for optimism.

For those who have the channel, the French Open will present viewing options never before offered at a major tournament. Live coverage will air from 5 a.m. until noon, with John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova calling the matches. ESPN takes the baton from noon until 6:30 p.m. (with Patrick McEnroe and company in the booth), and then the Tennis Channel returns with a highlight show, hosted by Bill Macatee, from 6:30 until 10 p.m. Best of all, for those who complain about networks concentrating on matches where top seeds pummel firstround opponents, the Tennis Channel will offer choices to its DirecTV and Dish Network satellite viewers. If you have satellite, you can choose one of six matches, or monitor all six in miniature on the same screen (the channel will produce commentary for each match).

Solomon repeatedly mentioned the Olympics when he spoke about his plans. The comparison makes sense: Choices are the best part of a major tennis tournament. Thousands of fans who attend the U.S. Open in the fall ignore the top players in the early rounds, choosing instead to watch lower-ranked players compete on outer courts. The combination of the Tennis Channel and ESPN could give fans a chance to see both — a low-profile match in the morning, followed by an ESPN replay in midafternoon of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, or Serena Williams. All told, it adds up to as much as 17 hours of tennis a day.

Of course, this applies only to those of us who can watch the Tennis Channel. About 3 million of those who can’t are residents of New York who subscribe to Cablevision (I’m one of them, and not by choice). Since Solomon took over, he has refused to cut deals that put his channel on a sports tier that costs a monthly fee, largely because half of his viewers are women, who, according to his research, won’t purchase a collection of sports channels just for tennis. Cablevision won’t come to terms; it is the only top 10 cable provider, Solomon said, that does not carry the channel in some form (a spokesman for Cablevision did not return calls seeking comment). While ESPN should satisfy the appetites of most local fans through the quarterfinals, one of the men’s semifinal matches will air exclusively on the Tennis Channel. Cablevision subscribers won’t see it.

Another concern: the Tennis Channel’s audience might well return to 10 million after the French Open, when the free promotions with DirecTV and other providers, including Time Warner in New York, end (the channel is part of a Time Warner sports tier). DirecTV won’t carry it full time until August because of other programming obligations; when that day comes, it will guarantee half its subscribers, about 8 million. Solomon hopes to persuade other partners to remove the channel off premium tiers and widely distribute it.

Still, the worst-case scenario for Solomon is double the audience come August, something that he said would not have happened if his company, and the French Tennis Federation, did not take a chance on the rights. This deal is already far better than most tennis fans had reason to believe it would be, and could turn out much better. Solomon likes to say tennis fans are “the most abused fans in the world.” What a surprise it would be if, in a few years, they end up spoiled.