US Open (tennis)

[BSR]

The USTA spent $200 million to build Louis Armstrong Stadium, which was supposed to be a 2nd retractable-roof stadium playable in all conditions.  But tonight, while play continued uninterrupted on Arthur Ashe, Armstrong was flooded, and needless to say the match was stopped.  Anderson & Schwartzman did resume their match, but in Ashe and after 11pm because they had to wait for the scheduled Ashe matches to finish.  Uh, what exactly did the USTA spend $200 million for??

[+ Charlie]

Admittedly, the weather conditions in NYC last night were unusually severe--extremely heavy rain that caused the subway system to be completely shut down because of flooding, and some water collecting even on the grounds of the tournament--but the design of the roof on Armstrong didn't seem to account for the possibility that heavy rain hitting the building horizontally would come into the stadium through the large vents that were left for air intake. Luckily, Ashe remained usable, and since many fans were stranded at the tournament by the difficulty of leaving, at least they got to see the rescheduled Anderson/Schwartzman match. Imagine if the rain had occurred while all those fans were trying to get in on Monday night!

[KeepItReal]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

Admittedly, the weather conditions in NYC last night were unusually severe--extremely heavy rain that caused the subway system to be completely shut down because of flooding, and some water collecting even on the grounds of the tournament--but the design of the roof on Armstrong didn't seem to account for the possibility that heavy rain hitting the building horizontally would come into the stadium through the large vents that were left for air intake. Luckily, Ashe remained usable, and since many fans were stranded at the tournament by the difficulty of leaving, at least they got to see the rescheduled Anderson/Schwartzman match. Imagine if the rain had occurred while all those fans were trying to get in on Monday night!

You are not wrong.  From a CNBC interview with Janno Lieber of the MTA: "there was historic rainfall last night - the first time a flash flood emergency was declared in the New York (City) area. What really took a toll was three and a half inches of rain fell in one hour."  Very few infrastructure projects are planned with this type of event in mind. 

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

I am now rooting for Sloane Stephens to win it all.

[BSR]

3 hours ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I am now rooting for Sloane Stephens to win it all.

Well, Stephens has about as good a chance as any because the women's field is so wide open.  She is 1 of 11 Slam champions still in the women's draw.  In contrast, since Marin Cilic and Andy Murray lost in the 1st round (not that either one had a shot at the title), Novak is the only Slam champion left on the men's side.

PS: not US Open-related but not worthy of its own thread, the 9/13/21 rankings (first after conclusion of the USO) will be the first time since April 25, 2005 that Rafa is out of the top 10.  Despite his many injuries, Rafa managed to stay in the top 10 for more than 16 years -- simply jaw-dropping. 

[+ WilliamM]

21 hours ago, BSR said:

The USTA spent $200 million to build Louis Armstrong Stadium, which was supposed to be a 2nd retractable-roof stadium playable in all conditions.  But tonight, while play continued uninterrupted on Arthur Ashe, Armstrong was flooded, and needless to say the match was stopped.  Anderson & Schwartzman did resume their match, but in Ashe and after 11pm because they had to wait for the scheduled Ashe matches to finish.  Uh, what exactly did the USTA spend $200 million for??

New York, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania were hit by a combination of record rain and tornadoes. A major road in Philadelphia looks like Venice now.

In Philadelphia, tornado warning went on all ievening until morning.People died in their car in New Jersey. The rainfall in New City set records. A dozen died in Queens where the  US Open is located.

[BSR]

Just now, WilliamM said:

New York, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania were hit by a combination of record rain and tornadoes. A major road in Philadelphia looks like Venice now.

In Philadelphia, tornado warning went on all ievening until morning.People died in their car in New Jersey. The rainfall in New City set records. A dozen died in Queens where the  US Open is located.

And through it all, play continued on Arthur Ashe uninterrupted.  If a stadium cost $200 million to build, I think it should be playable in anything & everything short of a Category 5 hurricane.  Flooding caused the tragedy of a number of deaths in the area, but flooding did not cause play stoppage in Louis Armstrong.  A design flaw did.

[+ WilliamM]

52 minutes ago, BSR said:

And through it all, play continued on Arthur Ashe uninterrupted.  If a stadium cost $200 million to build, I think it should be playable in anything & everything short of a Category 5 hurricane.  Flooding caused the tragedy of a number of deaths in the area, but flooding did not cause play stoppage in Louis Armstrong.  A design flaw did.

I don't agree because we weren't close to Flushing to see the weather conditions  first hand and judge  the transportation issues  which were horrible yesterday and last night 😔 here in Philadelphia.

[BSR]

1 hour ago, WilliamM said:

I don't agree because we weren't close to Flushing to see the weather conditions  first hand and judge  the transportation issues  which were horrible yesterday and last night 😔 here in Philadelphia.

So how was it that play continued on Arthur Ashe without interruption?

[+ WilliamM]

16 minutes ago, BSR said:

So how was it that play continued on Arthur Ashe without interruption?

I don't know because a bit more concerned with many  tornado alerts on my phone here in Philadelphia.

What I do know is that so far 43 souls were lost in the tragic weather in the Northeast from the remnants of Ida 

Edited September 3, 2021 by WilliamM

[BSR]

12 hours ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I am now rooting for Sloane Stephens to win it all.

NFL commentator Gregg Rosenthal has an interesting hobby:  amateur tennis analyst.  With a buddy, he has a YouTube channel where they talk tennis, and he's a bigger fan of women's tennis than men's.  Anyway, don't ask me for his source, but on today's video he claimed that Sloane Stephen's average forehand speed is the highest of all the players who have played on Ashe, including Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, and Zverev -- yowza!  In a wide-open women's field, that is a strong argument for why Stephen's has a chance to win the title.

Argument against:  she has the draw from Hell.  Kerber in the next round, Osaka after that, and that's just to get to the quarters.

Edited September 3, 2021 by BSR
Typo

[+ WilliamM]

19 hours ago, BSR said:

So how was it that play continued on Arthur Ashe without interruption?

Given the number of people who lost the lives - now approaching 40,  I really don't care  The Roof on Armstrong Stadium

[BSR]

Upsets reign at the US Open!  First the men's side ...

Jenson Brooksby (ranked #99) beat #25 Aslan Karatsev, but this is an upset only on paper.  Brooksby has been having a great summer (Newport final, DC semi) whereas Karatsev has slumped (3 wins, 7 losses) since Rome (beat Medvedev) and Belgrade (beat Novak!).

Another only-on-paper upset is Lloyd Harris over Denis Shapovalov.  Again, Harris is having a career-best year whereas Shapo hasn't won a match since that Wimbledon semi, plus Harris beat Shapo in March. 

Frances Tiafoe over Andrey Rublev qualifies as an upset, although not a hugely surprising one.  Rublev, despite his #7 ranking, has never done well at the Slams whereas Tiafoe loves playing at home (by "home" I mean in the US).  After losing heartbreaking five-setters at the USO to Isner, Roger, and Zverev, Frances finally wins a five-setter against Rublev. 

The biggest upset was #55 Carlos Alcaraz over #3 Stefanos Tsitsipas.  Tsitsipas still seems haunted by losing the Roland Garros final after leading 2 sets to love, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting this.  Carlos played his heart out and played the match of his young life.  Darren Cahill said that when he was looking for a coach for Simona Halep, he asked Juan Carlos Ferrero if he'd be interested.  Ferrero said he'd love to except that he was working with a 15yo who was really good.  Well, Ferrero has an eye for talent because his now 18yo player is in the 4th round of the US Open.

[BSR]

Only 3 upsets on the women's side ... Maria Sakkari over Petra Kvitova isn't that surprising since Kvitova, from a small town in the Czech Republic, has never felt comfortable in loud, bustling NYC.  As much as Naomi Osaka has struggled lately, no one was expecting 18yo #73 Leylah Fernandez to beat her.  Osaka announced she will take an indefinite leave of absence from professional tennis because she isn't happy when she wins (just relieved) yet is very sad when she loses.  Hopefully she gets the help she needs during her time off.  The biggest upset of all was Shelby Roger's over #1 Ash Barty.  Most shocking is that Barty served for the match twice yet lost in a 3rd-set tiebreaker.  Hey, number one's are human too.

Not an upset because #17 Kerber on paper was supposed to beat #66 Sloane Stephens, but Sloane was looking so good in the first 2 rounds.  Apparently weighing on Sloane's mind were ~2,000 truly vile attacks she got via social media -- racist, misogynist death threats.  I wouldn't be surprised if all 2,000 were from the same person.  Apparently plenty of players get death threats, mostly from gamblers who lost more than they could afford to lose because they bet big on a certain player who ends up losing.  Now that the gambler is (literally) facing homelessness, they go berserk & take out all their anger on the poor player.  Hopefully Sloane gets help from the WTA and law enforcement to deal with this.  It sounds like it was the first time this happened to her, and she was really shaken.

Edited September 5, 2021 by BSR
Typo

[+ WilliamM]

Jack Draper lost to Novak Djokovic in the the first round at London in June/July 2021,.  Draper was old enough to be vaccinated. He was vaccinated the very next day at Wimbldon.

 

Great role model, Novak

Edited September 5, 2021 by WilliamM

[+ Charlie]

I'll go out on a limb and say I think Tiafoe is the new Donald Young. The American commentators have been desperate for a long time to find a Black male star to succeed Arthur Ashe, that they keep hyping players who are good but not great, and unfortunately, I think Tiafoe believes their hype and is crushed when he can't live up to it. He looked so crestfallen last night when he lost to Auger-Aliasseme in a rather routine match. I'll bet he gets the same kind of hate mail that Stephens gets and is embarrassed to admit it.

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

3 minutes ago, Charlie said:

I'll go out on a limb and say I think Tiafoe is the new Donald Young. The American commentators have been desperate for a long time to find a Black male star to succeed Arthur Ashe, that they keep hyping players who are good but not great, and unfortunately, I think Tiafoe believes their hype and is crushed when he can't live up to it.

I see your point @Charlie; however, I'm hopeful that there's still time for him to surpass the comparison to Young.  Perhaps he can match the achievements of MaliVai Washington and get near the top ten rankings and make a slam final.

[+ Charlie]

5 minutes ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I see your point @Charlie; however, I'm hopeful that there's still time for him to surpass the comparison to Young.  Perhaps he can match the achievements of MaliVai Washington and get near the top ten rankings and make a slam final.

BTW, what has become of Washington? He used to be a commentator; I sat next to him on a plane coming back to the US from Melbourne after the 2003 Aussie Open, where he was one of the commentators for the US broadcasts.

[BSR]

2 hours ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I see your point @Charlie; however, I'm hopeful that there's still time for him to surpass the comparison to Young.  Perhaps he can match the achievements of MaliVai Washington and get near the top ten rankings and make a slam final.

Tennis Channel's Jon Wertheim reported that Donald Young never realized his potential because he simply refused to work.  The USTA paid one of the top coaches in the business to work with Young (Wertheim didn't disclose the name), but this coach quit within a couple of weeks because Young simply wasn't willing to put in the work necessary to become a top player.

Tiafoe does put in the hard work but has yet to see the results he's hoping for (current rank #50, career high #29).  None of the American Next Gen has.  Taylor Fritz won the boys title at the US Open, and Tommy Paul won the boys title at Roland Garros, yet neither has broken into the top 20.  I can see Reilly Opelka in the top 20, but not the top 10.

Mal Washington is selling real estate in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

[BSR]

After her loss today against Raducanu, Shelby Rogers expected "9 million death  threats" on her social media accounts.  Ugh, apparently psychos on social media harass & threaten even journey(wo)men like Rogers, not just former Slam champs like Stephens.

Edited September 7, 2021 by BSR
Tried to fix a link

[+ glutes]

 

 Some serious eye candy, Carlos Alcaraz.

[BSR]

@Charlie I think your 2 posts in the Naomi Osaka thread might be a better fit in this thread, so I'll respond to both here.

To think, 13 Slam champions started in the women's singles draw yet not a single one is left.  I couldn't even begin to predict a winner of the players remaining.  I'm hoping Pliskova finally wins one because she's starting to be known as "the best player never to win a Slam," a distinction nobody wants.

I follow a few amateur tennis analysts on YouTube, and they've all started calling Van de Zandschulp "Vandy" because the name freaks them out so much, LOL.  As expected, Vandy bowed out to Medvedev but actually took a set, the first Meddy has lost in the tournament.  I'm almost wondering if Medvedev's path to the final will be too easy.  It's better to be tested a bit since your opponent in the final is usually a very tough player.

I'm worried about my fave Novak because he hasn't looked good at all so far.  I keep telling myself that he's just playing his way into form after a month-long break & no tune-ups, but he better shake off the rust pretty quick.  With his current level, Zverev & Medvedev would crush him.

I'm looking forward to the FAA-Alcaraz match, which starts in a few minutes.  I fear the young Spaniard might be spent after two consecutive 5-setters.  Then again, one should never underestimate an 18yo's powers of recovery. Win or lose, Alcaraz is Spain's heir apparent to the 35yo Rafa Nadal, who has 20 Slams and 209 weeks at #1 to his credit.  No pressure, kid.

[+ Charlie]

A real shocker: Alcaraz retires partway through the 2nd set, apparently because of some kind of physical problem, after speaking with a physio but without getting any treatment. Even Auger-Aliassime seems baffled by the development.  Maybe these long, thrilling matches, which have been wonderful to watch for the past nine days, are taking too much of a toll on the winners (Krejcikova looked like she was hardly trying against Sabalenka, and lost 6-1, 6-4.)

[BSR]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

A real shocker: Alcaraz retires partway through the 2nd set, apparently because of some kind of physical problem, after speaking with a physio but without getting any treatment. Even Auger-Aliassime seems baffled by the development.  Maybe these long, thrilling matches, which have been wonderful to watch for the past nine days, are taking too much of a toll on the winners (Krejcikova looked like she was hardly trying against Sabalenka, and lost 6-1, 6-4.)

I read that Krejcikova was actually injured during the Muguruza match but somehow eked out the win. Unfortunately, she didn't heal up in time for the QF.  I can't say I'm surprised that Alcaraz pulled up lame.  18yo's haven't had time to build up the fitness necessary to endure a 5-setter, much less two in a row.  Still a great week for the young Spaniard, whose ranking will jump up to ~40, which means direct entry into all the Masters 1000s (lotsa ranking points, lotsa prize money).

I hope Felix can give Medvedev a match.  Felix always had all the physical tools necessary but lacked the mental strength to win big matches.  With a Wimbledon QF and now a USO SF, Felix made a wise choice in hiring Uncle Toni as his coach.  Not sure Felix has improved quite enough to beat Medvedev, but I'll be rooting for the Canadian. 

Edited to add:  I think a player is allowed to receive treatment only if the injury occurs during the match.  If a player goes into the match carrying an injury, he is not allowed to get treatment for it.  If Alcaraz's quad was bothering him before the match, the most the trainer can do is give him pain pills or anti-inflammatories, no physical manipulation or taping is permitted. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by BSR
Added info

[+ Charlie]

OK, before the tournament started, how many tennis pundits predicted that the women's final would be between two unseeded bi-racial (Ecuadorean/Filipina and Roumanian/Chinese) teenagers, both born in Canada to immigrant parents? How many commentators could even name the players who fit that description? Whoever ends up in the men's final will be a lot more familiar names than those two, at least for now.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Charlie