A grounds pass at the US Open gives you access to every court except Arthur Ashe Stadium. On a normal day early in the tournament, it’s hard enough to keep up with all the action on the grounds. But this is no normal day: with most of yesterday’s matches postponed due to rain, there are 87 singles matches scheduled for Day 3. Here’s my diary of the day as I scurry around to catch as much tennis as possible.
View from the 7 train. On the left: construction of the new Louis Armstrong Stadium. On the right: Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Normally I would arrive before play begins to watch players practice, but 7 train delays did not allow for that, so I immediately plotted out which court would be my first stop for the day.
The temporary Louis Armstrong Stadium
11:00am – Settle into Louis Armstrong Stadium for the resumption of Elina Svitolina vs. Siniakova. Svitolina easily won the first set yesterday 6-0, they will now re-start in the second set tiebreak. This year’s temporary Louis Armstrong stadium consists of metal bleachers with “luxury” porta-potties underneath, but finds some charm in its intimacy and the surrounding trees. Finding shade on long days like this is critical, yet usually challenging, so the trees are a welcome sight. Svitolina won the first set 6-0, but we re-start play in the second set tiebreak. An extremely extended rally gives Siniakova three set points, and she takes the set on the third. It’s only 11:15, and we already have some intrigue with the number four seed pushed to a final set.
Another extended rally ends with a beautiful drop shot and lob combo, giving Siniakova the break to open the third. Siniakova is hitting a lot of backhand winners, and dictating play with her ground strokes. The third set sees lots of long rallies, but in the end Svitolina is able to grind out the win with some superb defense.
Grigor Dimitrov in action on the Grandstand
12:15pm – I arrive at the Grandstand on the opposite side of the grounds and watch Grigor Dimitrov finish off an easy 6-1 first set over Vaclav Safranek of the Czech Republic. It’s a mismatch with the Cincinnati champ against the 210th-ranked qualifier, but nonetheless Dimitrov looks very sharp, winning in straight sets. He could be ready for his first deep run in New York.
I was surprised to find there were a lot more fans watching Kyrgios on Armstrong than Dimitrov on the Grandstand. Dimitrov is the more established player, but Kyrgios is much more popular on this day. The stands were only about 20% full on the Grandstand, while people lined up to get onto Armstrong.
Alexander Zverev hits with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. In the background, Martina Hingis gets in some doubles practice.
1:45-2:15pm – I wander the practice and outer courts for a bit. I get to see Marin Cilic, Jelena Ostapenko, Alexander Zverev, Martina Hingis, and Steve Johnson all on the practice courts. Catch the final point of a five-set victory for Taro Daniel of Japan over American Tommy Paul. Daniel’s reward after a five-set win? He’ll play Nadal tomorrow. I then walk right past Fabio Fognini, returning to court from a bathroom break. He promptly loses the next six games to an opponent who has never won a tour-level match, and Fabio is heading home. Typical Fognini.
2:30pm – Take a quick lunch break, and thanks to the little radios American Express gives out, listen to coverage of Nick Kyrgios’ match. The ESPN team is critical as Kyrgios struggles with injury and motivation. Kyrgios goes out to a much lower-ranked countryman. Typical Kyrgios.
David Goffin takes on Julien Benneteau on Court 5
3:00pm – Grab a seat on intimate Court 5 for ninth seed David Goffin versus veteran Frenchman Julien Benneteau. Goffin still has the knee he injured at Roland Garros taped up, but his movement doesn’t look hampered as he scrambles his way to a 2-1 set lead. Benneteau then completely goes way, dropping 12 of the first 14 points of the fourth set, so I also decide to go away.
Lucas Pouille and Jared Donaldson warming up on Court 17.
3:45pm – In the opposite corner of the grounds, another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille, gets his match underway against Jared Donaldson. The American cramped during his win on Monday, and got off to a slow start here. Donaldson appeared tense early on. He looked up in frustration to the row in front of me repeatedly, where coaches Marsy Fish and Jan-Michael Gambill were seated. Both players struggled with consistency, but Pouille played better at the end of each of the first two sets. I exited during the third set to ensure I didn’t miss my top priority for the day (Donaldson would come back and win the next two sets, but Pouille prevailed in the fifth).
Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric get set for what would be a stellar match on the Grandstand.
6:00pm – Returned to the Grandstand for the start of Alexander Zverev against Borna Coric. The Grandstand got jam-packed for this one, especially as the start of the night session on Ashe was delayed. All players look bigger in person than on TV, but Zverev’s height is especially impressive from courtside. On the fashion front, Zverev abandoned the knee-high tube socks he wore on Monday. Good choice.
Zverev quickly won the first set. In the second set, he saved one set point on a 41-shot rally, but lost a second set point to even the match. Coric would return the favor by saving break points in the third on 25, 29, and 40-shot rallies. Coric would take the third in a tiebreak. At 5-6 in the fourth, Coric would save three sets points, and take the fourth set tiebreak to complete the big upset. Zverev only broke serve once in the match despite 11 tries, and played too tentatively in the big moments. At 9:45pm on Day 3, the fourth seed is out.
10:00pm – take a quick food break and watch the big screens by the fountains in the main plaza. Get to see Shapapolov take the first set over Tsonga, and Sloane Stephens finish off eleventh seed Dominika Cibulkova.
10:20pm – Back to the Grandstand for Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza. She’s playing 92nd-ranked Ying-Ying Duan of China. Muguruza gets a critical break in the ninth game and takes the first set.
10:50pm – Unfortunately bedtime is fast approaching, so I begrudgingly need to go home. Still seven matches on court as I head out. Just another 12-hour day at the Open.
