U.S. Open almost entirely on schedule despite torrential rains in New York

Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson did not know if they were going to finish their match. Stefanos Tsitsipas did not know where he was going to sleep.

And those were the least of people’s concerns on Wednesday at the U.S. Open.

The forecast in New York was such that it looked like only the matches on two courts with roofs wouldn’t be delayed.

Instead, the only match that was delayed was on a court with a roof.

Torrential rains from Hurricane Ida arrived several hours later than expected, but once they hit they did so in historic fashion. And they did with such volume and force that not even Louis Armstrong Stadium–which does have a roof–could keep the rain out. Thus the night-session match in Armstrong between Schwartzman and Anderson was moved to Ashe following the conclusion of Sloane Stephens vs. Coco Gauff and Tsitsipas vs. Adrian Mannarino.

Schwartzman and Anderson started their match at 7:00 pm and were able to complete one set, which required an hour of tennis time but two hours of actual time. Multiple delays due to wet spots on the court left players and fans alike befuddled as to how this was happening in a stadium with a roof.

There was no leak or any other problem with the actual roof of course. The issue is that there is open space behind the baselines in between the roof and the lower level of the court. When extreme wind causes rain to flood down in all different directions, it’s not hard for it to find its way in.

Everyone found that out the hard way when the rains became biblical shortly before 10:00 pm. After another delay in Schwartzman vs. Anderson just three points into the third set, it was clear that there would be no more play in Armstrong for the rest of the night.

Fortunately for those two players, neither night-session match in Ashe lasted too long. Stephens defeated Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and five minutes before Tsitsipas held off Mannarino 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-0 in two hours and 41 minutes.

“I could hear [the rain],” the Greek said following his victory. “At first I thought it was the crowd, just people talking [in the top rows]. I just realized it was not the crowd; it was the rain–just a lot of noise coming from up there…. I do have a bed here, so I might have a sleepover here tonight.”

For Tsitsipas and Schwartzman, getting back to the city later that night may have been more difficult than winning their matches.

Schwartzman and Anderson moved over to Ashe shortly before midnight and the Argentine ultimately finished off a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory just after 1:00 am.

“First of all, thank you everyone for staying tonight,” Schwartzman told the crowd. “It’s been crazy weather. It was very difficult before the (resumption of the) match…. I wanted to finish today, not tomorrow.”

Wednesday’s only singles match postponed entirely was Angelique Kerber vs. Anhelina Kalinina, which had been scheduled for Armstrong following Schwartzman vs. Anderson. The start of play on all courts on Thursday was pushed back from 11:00 am to noon.