Topic: Should the U.S. Open get a retractable roof?

[Start da Game]

even with a roof, the slam would still be crappy........they should get rid of that saturday-sunday mess first.........

[conchita]

even with a roof, the slam would still be crappy........they should get rid of that saturday-sunday mess first.........

but the supersaturday is quite a tradition at the us open.
back in 1975, at Forest Hills, on one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history, Manuel Orantes saves five match points and comes back from being down two-sets-to-one and 0-5 in the fourth set to defeat Guillermo Vilas, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, in the semifinals. Less than 18 hours after defeating Vilas, Orantes upsets top-seeded and defending champion Connors, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in the men's singles final.
the anecdote is that after the semifinal, when Orantes went to his hotel there was a major big problem in the bathroom! and could not sleep until 4.00 am.

[Start da Game]

all very interesting and cool stories conchita, but we also have to move ahead with changing times.......americans dislike wimbledon tradition and accuse the aeltc of living in the past but they themselves don't live in the present.......

serve and volley and quick points was the norm on fast surfaces at the us open in the past.......even then most of the finals proved to be a test of physical endurance than the actual tennis ability of players........just imagine the amount of work in today's baseline oriented physical game........is it possible to play a long semifinal, recover and then play the final the very next day?

 

[monstertruck]

even with a roof, the slam would still be crappy........they should get rid of that saturday-sunday mess first.........

but the supersaturday is quite a tradition at the us open.
back in 1975, at Forest Hills, on one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history, Manuel Orantes saves five match points and comes back from being down two-sets-to-one and 0-5 in the fourth set to defeat Guillermo Vilas, 4-6, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, in the semifinals. Less than 18 hours after defeating Vilas, Orantes upsets top-seeded and defending champion Connors, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in the men's singles final.
the anecdote is that after the semifinal, when Orantes went to his hotel there was a major big problem in the bathroom! and could not sleep until 4.00 am.

You mean Orantes was actually able to play a 5 setter and get back on court in less than 24 hours?  With little to no sleep??? OMG!!!

The organizers and hotel officials must have mistaken him for Nadal.....

[conchita]

 Rain and the U.S. Open

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/about/history/anec_rain.html

flushing meadows, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010....plenty of time to realise how a roof was needed while all other majors had build/planned a retractable roof on centre court. 

there was also some rain during the last years at forest hills, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974.

Laver completing the Grandest Slam at a rainy Forest Hills in 1969:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1146653/index.htm

I still don't get why at the AO the two main stadiums have a roof, there was even talk to put a roof on MCA but then....
Wimby just built in the last 3 years SC2 and SC3 without a retractable roof or in 1997 with new Court 1.
and at the USO with brand new C17. 

the forecast for the coming days is not good at all, so that can put finally some pressure on the usta to build a roof.

[Tennis4you]

I love this slam!  This is easily my all-time favorite!  Plus it is the closest to me so huge bonus, I hope to be there some day.

The roof would be nice.  They need to learn how to build force-fields that just dome around the stadium with the click of a button.  I should go invent that.

[conchita]

The organizers and hotel officials must have mistaken him for Nadal.....

you mean mistook for the other Manolo, Santana!  winner in 1965, first european since Cochet in 1928! 
the bathroom anecdote with Orantes at the hotel is a joy to discover! so hilarious!

[Start da Game]

some great information there, conhita.......where do you find all this?

[conchita]

thanks!

Orantes was the first tennis legend I knew, only autograph I have, only one. Very special! wonderful memories! 
then came all the RCTB, all! and the majors abroad but Orantes was the original one, the first to go on court! 
what a privilege and honour!  Manolito, such a humble and classy champion 

glad and happy he took since his retirement an extremely low connection with the media.  memories are forever! 

[Start da Game]

thanks!

Orantes was the first tennis legend I knew, only autograph I have, only one. Very special! wonderful memories! 
then came all the RCTB, all! and the majors abroad but Orantes was the original one, the first to go on court! 
what a privilege and honour!  Manolito, such a humble and classy champion 

glad and happy he took since his retirement an extremely low connection with the media.  memories are forever! 

yep, santana looks like a laid back person doing his commentary and who's not too keen on attention despite his historic achievements.......tiriac on the other hand, a somewhat displeasing personality at least in tennis affairs........i never understood why they give him so much importance in spain and even in the ATP circles........

[monstertruck]

thanks!

Orantes was the first tennis legend I knew, only autograph I have, only one. Very special! wonderful memories! 
then came all the RCTB, all! and the majors abroad but Orantes was the original one, the first to go on court! 
what a privilege and honour!  Manolito, such a humble and classy champion 

glad and happy he took since his retirement an extremely low connection with the media.  memories are forever! 

yep, santana looks like a laid back person doing his commentary and who's not too keen on attention despite his historic achievements.......tiriac on the other hand, a somewhat displeasing personality at least in tennis affairs........i never understood why they give him so much importance in spain and even in the ATP circles........

Perhaps because he controls over $2 Billion in assets......

[DirtyKash]

Another day session rained out. Yawn. Roof already!

[Mertov]

Orantes was one of the nicest guys on the Tour, and as Conchita rightly says, humble and classy champion.  Here is an anecdote about him..

I saw him in 1983 at Monte Carlo.  He pulled a big upset in the quarterfinals, defeating Yannick Noah (who won the French two months later).  Noah was in complete control of the match until all of a sudden Orantes won the second set in the tiebreaker and served and volleyed his way to a win in the third set, at the age of 34.

Immediately after the hand shake, Noah stayed slumped in his chair, in total disbelief, with his head between his hands looking down at the ground for a good 6-7 minutes, with about 20 photographers gravitating around him, taking pictures..  Really eerie looking scene it was.. Completely quite, except for the clicking of the machines with this guy looking like he is about to commit a suicide on a chair, and photographers giving him no breathing room and taking picture after picture 5-6 feet away from him on the court..  It was on an outside court and most people were already gone after the handshake.  It was such a bizarre 6-7 minutes that 2 months later when Noah won Roland Garros he was even asked by one of the press people if what went through his head in Monte Carlo after his loss to Orantes put him back in the right track to win RG.

Back to that scene...  It was finally Manolo who was about to walk off the court, and looked back and saw the ridiculous scene taking place, who came back and saved Noah basically.  He walked back there, told a few of the photographers 'gently' to back off, and consoled Noah and told him to get his bag and walk off the court with him, you could see as he was walking off that Noah had been crying that whole time.

Mert

PS:  Sorry, I know it's unrelated to the topic

[DirtyKash]

Doesn't look like there's going to be any play tonight either. Misty drizzle in Flushing right now with precipitations increasing as the night goes on.

My suggestion if a roof is out of the question: build a new tennis mega-complex in either suburban Los Angeles (say Orange County) or San Diego and permanently relocate the U.S. Open there. No rain in California, no problem.

[Alex]

this sucks. everything is so stupid atm  (I was gonna say F...up  ).

[Avatar]

they should at least put a covering over the court! i always found it such a joke that they had to take the time to dry the courts.  why not just put a covering over it like at wimbledon so when the rain does stop, play can resume immediately? it would not only save time but they would also save money on towels and maintaining those blower machines! 

i still stand by what i said 2 years ago. if this "light mist" stops, they could have the players on immediately and more tennis would be played.

[Babblelot]

We covered this in this very thread last year 

Armstrong and Grandstand out, to be replaced by another monster stadium with a room. No one tears out 2 stadiums and builds 2 in one year. Not Wimbledon, not AO. Court 17 was constructed and was playable, but even it is not complete. I'm sure the thinking was add another stadium to handle some matches being cancelled, not entire days washed out. But some of you people are retarded crybabies so for you, I'm glad you're miserable. I had a blast despite the rain.


Shankar actual has a very valid point: why don't they cover the courts. Only speculating, but it must have something to do with drainage and hardcourts because (and this is going to break Shank's heart), AO doesn't cover their hardcourts either. Nevertheless, it does make you go Hmmm... 

[jmsx521]

Maybe a quick roof made out of big bed sheets, or water proof vinyl? Oh, but then we'll have a lift-off when the wind blows too hard.

[Avatar]

Shankar actual has a very valid point: why don't they cover the courts. Only speculating, but it must have something to do with drainage and hardcourts because (and this is going to break Shank's heart), AO doesn't cover their hardcourts either. Nevertheless, it does make you go Hmmm... 

i assume you are reffering to me? 
that could be the case, but when the camera follows a player going wide on the court, you can clearly see a drain. i guess its just not big enough?

[Babblelot]

Shankar actual has a very valid point: why don't they cover the courts. Only speculating, but it must have something to do with drainage and hardcourts because (and this is going to break Shank's heart), AO doesn't cover their hardcourts either. Nevertheless, it does make you go Hmmm... 

i assume you are reffering to me? 
that could be the case, but when the camera follows a player going wide on the court, you can clearly see a drain. i guess its just not big enough?

I guess it was the both of yous then. The difference was that Shank thought the USO was a joke for not covering the courts. I think drainage is an issue because they are at sea level, but that's speculation. I don't know why hardcourts anywhere aren't covered. Mystery