Federer and Djokovic hit out at US Open's $600 million blunder
The roof of the Ashe Stadium has caused major problems at the US Open amongst the tennis players, and not because of its use.
The stadium, which consists of two roofs, including the new one at rebuilt Armstrong Stadium, was kept closed for entire matches due to a dry few weeks.
However, the results of that were extreme amounts of heat and humidity, and many of the tournaments biggest contenders came out to criticise the lack of circulation, blaming the superstructure on top of the arena that supports the roof for affecting their performance on court.
Roger Federer claimed it was due to this reason that he lost against John Millman on Monday night, saying he was having trouble breathing due to the humidity in the air. Shortly after, Novak Djokovic said he’s never played a US Open this sweaty because of the lack of circulation.
“I think that this tournament needs to address this,” Djokovic said. “Whether it’s night or day, we just don’t have air down there. It feels like a sauna. Obviously, the roof is fantastic. We, as players, are grateful that we have the roof because then the rain will not interrupt the matches. But there is no circulation of the air at all, especially court level.”
The USTA is investigating the problem to make sure it doesn’t happen again next year, according to spokesman Chris Widmaier.
In the Djokovic-Millman match on Wednesday, Millman was forced to take a break as his shorts were dripping wet and he was having trouble putting tennis balls in his pocket. Players usually are not allowed to leave unless it’s a changeover, but a special exception was made.
The two roofs were one of the main features of the US Open’s $600 million revamping of the National Tennis Center.