Wind-blown rain halts US Open match under Armstrong roof
The US Tennis Association announced completion of match would be moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
NEW YORK (AFP) - In one of the US Open’s most bizarre match stoppages, blowing wind and rain under the corners of the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof halted a men’s second-round matchup on Wednesday.
South African Kevin Anderson was playing Argentina’s 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman when showers stopped them three points into the second set.
Torrential rains, the remnants of deadly Hurricane Ida, were blown under the corners of the retractable roof at the facility, opened in 2018 to provide a second court to keeping playing despite downpours.
The storm eventually swamped Armstrong stadium, the court looking closer to hosting a 100-meter freestyle than a tennis match.
The US Tennis Association announced the completion of the match would be moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A women’s match scheduled later at Armstrong, German sixth seed Angelique Kerber against Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, was postponed to Thursday.
Wind-blown rain forced a drying machine onto the court and a host of towel-wielding workers to try and soak up moisture from the rain-slickened court.
The first stoppage came at 5-5 in the first set, when the machine helped get the court back in condition.
The second stoppage came at 4-4 in a first-set tie-breaker and consisted mostly of wiping down the lines so play could continue.
When it resumed, Schwartzman won the first three points to win the set. Anderson led 30-15 serving in the first game of the second set when the decision was made to suspend the match.
The area was under a tornado warning and flash flood watch from the US National Weather Service during the deluge.
