The roof was closed but somehow the rain came streaming in.
That was the situation faced by fans, commentators and players as heavy rain swamped Louis Armstrong Stadium at the US Open, despite the retractable roof in place.
With a tornado swirling nearby, the second round match between South Africa’s Kevin Anderson and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman had to be paused at 5-all in the first set as organisers rushed to deal with the problem. The wind was so strong it blew “misty” rain through the ventilation at the side of the stadium, with water landing on the court and briefly making the match unplayable.
The US Tennis Association said the area is under a tornado watch with potential for lightning, with 50 km/h winds recorded.
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Proceedings resumed a short time later even though the rain kept coming through and impacting play at the beginning of the tie-breaker. Schwartzman expressed frustration after slipping during the opening point, urging the umpire to halt play again.
“You can’t play in this, crazy,” said Jason Goodall in commentary for ESPN.
“I’m surprised they’ve even played that point there,” he added following the next point.
“You can see very clearly it’s coming in through the ventilation on both sides it’s just whether it’s falling enough on court to stop play. If one of the players in this situation thinks it’s unsafe then you’ve got to be fair to both.
“The rain and wind have made things unplayable. Everybody’s got umbrellas up in the crowd because it’s going sideways then dropping onto the court. It’s turned into a bit of a shambles.”
The Argentine then took his concerns to the court official seated beside the court, who then told Schwartzman to speak to the umpire. The chair umpire had already checked the court twice for Anderson after the South African made the same complaint. Eventually the call was made to stop play again at 4-all in the tie-breaker as the court was dried again.
“Sideways rain on Louis Armstrong this is unbelievable. We had to move away from the desk because we’re getting absolutely soaked here,” commentator and former Australian player Darren Cahill continued.
“The rain and wind have made things unplayable. Everybody’s got umbrellas up in the crowd because it’s going sideways then dropping onto the court. It’s turned into a bit of a shambles.
“We’ve never seen this before. It’s probably a one in 20-year event.”
Schwartzman went on to win the first set after play resumed before it was stopped again in the second set when Anderson walked off the court.
The match has been concluded for the evening.
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