Inside the Open

Written by: Staff on 7th September 2011

Inside the Open

Fans depart Arthur Ashe Stadium after all matches were cancelled due to rain on the ninth day of the 2011 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA 06 September 2011. The US Open runs through 11 September 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Not a single ball was struck on Tuesday as rain fell hard in New York washing out the entire day of tennis at the Open.

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE MOVES TO WEDNESDAY: What does it all mean? Well, for starters young Americans like Donald Young (singles) and Jack Sock and Melanie Oudin (mixed doubles) who were supposed to have played on Ashe on Tuesday will now get moved to the Grandstand court and Court 11, respectively, on Wednesday.

What it also means is that Ashe lineup now begins with Nadal followed by Novak D. The night session is Serena followed by five-time champion Federer. In a word: Wow!

Joining Young on the Grandstand is the John Isner match against No. 12 Gilles Simon of France. Andy Roddick will play his first non-Ashe match as he opens up play on Louis Armstrong against No. 5 David Ferrer.

MOVING ON IN A HURRY: Sure, it was 11:51 p.m., so who could blame Roger Federer for wanting to put the finishing touches on Juan Monaco as quickly as he did Monday night. It actually could have started well past midnight had No. 15 Svetlana Kuznetsova put up more of a fight in her third set in her eventual loss to Caroline Wozniacki, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1, in a match that lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes.

Federer was near flawless in his trouncing of Juan Monaco in which the first set took just 18 minutes en route to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 victory. In the second game of the second set, he served four straight aces. Dominating, indeed.

“It’s only a game. Only four points,” he said. “But it’s nice to do it that way instead of having to take 10 minutes.”

DO THE USTA NEED TO INVEST IN A ROOF? Chris Chase of the Busted Racquet blog on Yahoo! Sports is one who is in favor of putting a roof overhead at the National Tennis Center.

“I know some Internet chuckleheads have made the point that the roof may not make financial sense and that the rain delays are the exceptions, not the rules. I’ve changed my tune. The Wimbledon roof has been an unqualified success and has saved tennis fans on what would have otherwise been boring, rainy days. Nobody likes rain delays, especially an organization who earns millions in revenue from a two-week event, ticket holders who have to change plans and a network that pays millions for television rights and then it stuck showing a replayed match during what’s supposed to be a live coverage window.

“Get a roof. Get it soon.”

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (that’s easy for you to say) took out No. 7 Francesca Schiavone, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, in a fourth-round match that featured 16 service breaks in 31 games.

“I don’t want to go out there and enjoy just being on the center court playing against Serena,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “I would like to do well, try to fight, and with my effort I try to beat her. But of course I respect her a lot, as well. She’s just great.”

TWO MORE FOR THE TITLE: Americans Jack Sock and Melanie Oudin are two wins from winning the US Open in mixed doubles. They face Russian Elena Vesnina and Leander Paes of India, the No. 7 seeded on Wednesday.

ALL HAVE THE REUBEN, HOLD THE MAYO: From Lynn Zinser of the New York Times: “Weather has created such regular chaos with the Open schedule — it has delayed the men’s final from Sunday to Monday each of the last three years — that cancelations and delays have become as much a part of the scene at the National Tennis Center as overpriced sandwiches.”

NOT EVEN BUD COULD CONTINUE HURT: Sure there have been a large number of injury defaults and players cramping after matches, but no one expected even esteemed tennis commentator and writer Bud Collins to go down like he did, suffering a nasty fall on Monday which led to him returning to Boston to fix a rupture of the quad tendon.

With his lovely wife Anita Ruthling Klaussen by his side the entire time, there’s nothing like a visit to Bud’s work space in the media center at the Open.

Here’s wishing the best to the 82-year-old Bud as he recovers from surgery which took place on Tuesday.

One online fan of Bud’s recalled this funny story during the Ivaniesvec-Krajicek Wimbledon match several years ago where the average “rally” was 1.4 strokes. Finally, there was a rally of three strokes and Bud said, “Holy Cow, tennis broke out.”

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE:

Arthur Ashe Stadium, Starting at 11 a.m.

1. Men’s Singles – 4th Round

Gilles Muller (LUX) v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]

2. Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] v. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)[20]

Arthur Ashe Stadium 7 p.m. Start Time

1. Women’s Singles – Quarterfinals

Serena Williams (USA)[28] v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[17]

2. Men’s Singles – Quarterfinals

Roger Federer (SUI)[3] v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[11]

Louis Armstrong, starting at 11 a.m.