Wild weather disrupts US Open play despite roof
Rain pelted down the gaps in the retractable roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night, disrupting second-round play at the…
NEW YORK — Rain pelted down the gaps in the roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night, disrupting second-round play at the US Open.
Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong are the only courts at Flushing Meadows that can be covered during bad weather, but even that was an issue as wind helped push rain through the space between the concourse and the retractable cover at Armstrong. After two hours of steady rain, the stadium was completely soaked, halting play on the show court.
ESPN analyst Darren Cahill chronicled the events in a series of tweets.
😩 pic.twitter.com/55h41mxB3u
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) September 2, 2021
Update. Getting worse pic.twitter.com/ezVe9mSfep
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) September 2, 2021
Final update pic.twitter.com/INA8C7eIit
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) September 2, 2021
The match between two-time major finalist Kevin Anderson and 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman was suspended with Schwartzman leading 7-6 (4), and it resumed on Ashe following the conclusion of Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 win over Adrian Mannarino.
Schwartzman eventually won 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round, with the event finishing just after 1 a.m. ET on Thursday.
The match between Angelique Kerber and Anhelina Kalinina, originally scheduled to follow Anderson and Schwartzman on Armstrong, was postponed until Thursday.
Louis Armstrong Stadium, which holds 14,000 seats, was updated ahead of the 2018 US Open with a naturally ventilated roof.
Fans in attendance at the US Open on Wednesday night received flash flood and tornado warnings that read, “This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.” As the rain got steadily worse, spectators huddled under umbrellas or left the tennis center.
The majority of New York City’s subway system was closed after heavy flooding in several stations. Shortly after midnight on Thursday, New York governor Kathy Hochul announced she was declaring a state of emergency “to help New Yorkers affected by tonight’s storm.”
The National Weather Service recorded 3.15 inches of rain in New York’s Central Park in one hour, far surpassing the 1.94 inches that fell in one hour during Tropical Storm Henri on the night of Aug. 22, which was believed at the time to be the most ever recorded in the park.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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