Rafael Nadal first to win under the new roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium at US Open
Thursday 1 September 2016 09:03, UK
Rafael Nadal became the first player to win under the new roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium as he beat Andreas Seppi at the US Open.
The fourth seed cruised into the third round with a 6-0 7-5 6-1 win, with play suspended for a little over seven minutes with the score tied at 3-3 in the second set as the new $150m (£114m) retractable roof was closed following a brief rain interruption.
The crowd roared in approval when the two sides of the roof met above the court in five minutes and 35 seconds. Nadal was delighted with his victory and at being part of the first match played under the new roof as he looks ahead to a third round tie against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.
"I was very happy to be the first player to play in the competition with this fantastic roof closing," he said. "Amazing, unbelievable."
"I feel that the conditions are pretty similar when the roof is closed or open."
Nadal's mood was in stark contrast to women's French Open champion Garbine Muguruza who had preceded her compatriot on court and was upset by Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 7-5 6-4.
Muguruza and Sevastova played with the roof open, but both complained about the noise from the boisterous fans, which appeared to be exacerbated by the roof support structure trapping the sound. Umpires continually appealed to the crowd to be quiet, but that did little to lower the noise.
"This is New York. Yes, there is crowd noise and yes, we want the crowds to come, to be excited. We want them to cheer," US Tennis Association executive director Gordon Smith said. "We think that over time the fans will adjust and the players will adjust.
"This is a learning year for us ... we'll look at doing things in the future to deal with that."
Elsewhere, the US Tennis Association said a spectator was arrested by police after he jumped over a wall surrounding a US Open court at the end of a match.
USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said the man got onto Court 13 after Kateryna Bondarenko's 5-7 7-6 7-5 victory over Zheng Saisai, the last match at that court on Wednesday night.
Two tournament security guards moved the man away from Bondarenko, and he was then handcuffed and arrested by police, according to Widmaier, who added that neither player was harmed.
He said the spectator was charged with interference in a sporting event and was issued a 10-year no trespassing order by the USTA. Widmaier called it "always very disappointing when some knucklehead behaves in this way".
