Rain on the new Open roof — and noise underneath

By Art Spander

NEW YORK — People seem to be fascinated by what’s over their heads. Didn’t the Drifters have a hit song in the 1960s, “Up on the Roof"? And every time there’s a new stadium that’s under cover, such as the Astrodome, bless its history, or an old stadium that’s under new cover, such as Wimbledon Centre Court, we’re enthralled.

When the Astrodome opened in 1965 with an exhibition game between the Astros (neé the Colt .45s) and the Yankees, there was a home run by Mickey Mantle and complaints that no one could see the ball through the then-translucent roof. Still, so enamored were we by the structure that it was proclaimed the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Such naiveté.

Now there are domed stadia, ballparks and arenas, some of the coverings permanent, some retractable, from Seattle (Safeco Field, retractable) to New Orleans (the Superdome, permanent). And still we can’t get enough, especially the officials who have a new toy.

Centre Court at Wimbledon needed a roof practically since Victoria was queen of England. The 2000 men’s final, won by Pete Sampras, was halted so many times by rain it lasted seven hours. Naturally, when at last the $120 million retractable covering was ready, for the 2009 tournament, the weather was beautiful until early in the second week a few drops dripped. Elation. Close the roof. Thank you, Mother Nature.

So it was here at Flushing Meadows for the U.S. Open tennis championships. Five years running, 2010-14, the men’s final had to be delayed or postponed by everything from hurricanes to drizzles. Call in the architects. The new roof over the main court, at 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, was finished a few weeks ago. U.S. Tennis Association officials even had media previews of the closing and opening.

Hey, if you can’t interview Roger Federer, that’s the next best thing.

All day Monday and Tuesday, like people watching for an invading force, Open execs searched the skies for even a cloud. Nothing. Finally, Wednesday, it turned. A bit of rain Wednesday evening. A great deal of joy for the USTA, if not for Rafael Nadal and Andreas Seppi, who competed in the first indoor match ever for the Open. If not the last.

Thursday was wet, and play was chased from the outdoor courts for a long while. But not from Ashe, where the stars performed. Andy Murray, the No. 2 seed, beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets. Then Venus Williams won over Julia Georges. It was different, but it was tennis.

No roars from jets ascending from LaGuardia but a constant din, like 5,000 crickets chirping or neighbors talking gossip across the back fence. As at all roofed stadiums, whatever the sport, the noise was unavoidable, although not particularly irritating.

“I don’t think it was too different to the other night when I played,” said Murray, referring to Tuesday, when he played the late match with the roof open at the Open. “But when the rain came, it was certainly loud.”

Murray the Brit (he’s Scottish not English) not surprisingly was selected on that night in June 2009 to be part of first full match under the Wimbledon roof. There were gasps and then cheers when the mechanism was deployed.

Murray was not totally overjoyed by what he heard at Arthur Ashe Stadium, or more specifically what he didn’t hear. It’s as if the tennis is being played in a hangar.

“You can’t hear anything, really,” said Murray. “I mean you could hear the line calls but not so much when the opponents — you know, when he was hitting the ball or you were hitting the ball.

“We’re not used to it. That’s what make it so challenging. Because we use our ears when we play. It’s not just the eyes. It helps us pick up the speed of the ball, the spin that’s on the ball, how hard someone’s hitting it.”

Venus Williams, in her 18^th U.S. Open, was unperturbed by what others considered by the noise or anything else.

“You know,” she said about the pre-roofed Ashe Stadium, “there was a lot of noise last year. Over time you start to forget about the noise. So I think as a player, the higher the stakes the less you year. I do enjoy the quiet.”

To which one must add, “Shhhh.”

Newsday (N.Y.): Andy Murray wins 2nd Wimbledon title by beating Milos Raonic

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

WIMBLEDON, England — It’s axiomatic in football and baseball that defense wins. Pitching, of course, is a major part of defense. If the other team doesn’t score, it’s impossible to lose.

In the Wimbledon men’s final, Andy Murray demonstrated that the concept is no less applicable to tennis.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2016 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Palm Springs Life: What's in Brand? Plenty in Tennis

By Art Spander
Palm Springs Life

Hollywood figured it out almost as soon as there were movies: Fame sells.

You didn’t need actors who knew Shakespeare — not that it wasn’t acceptable — but actors and actresses who were known. The two worst words for box office weren’t “No talent,” but “Who’s he?” The same thing for golf and tennis.

Read the full story here.

Copyright 2016 Desert Publications. All rights reserved.

Delbonis and the desert: a bad combo for Andy Murray

By Art Spander

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — He once beat Roger Federer, and that was three years ago when Federer still was near the top of his game. Nobody had heard of Federico Delbonis until then. He was 22, trying to work his way up the rankings, a no-name from Argentina.

Few have heard of him since. Then, whoosh, Delbonis struck again. Handled the serves and psyche Monday of the man ranked No. 2 in the world, Andy Murray. This plot of desert land 15 miles east of Palm Springs seems as alien to Murray as the surface of the moon.

“It’s just the conditions here,” said Murray. He didn’t mean the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where the annual BNP Paribas Open is held annually. He meant the Coachella Valley, where the sun shines — the high temperature was 79 — the wind blows, there are a zillion swimming pools and maybe a half-zillion golf courses. Most visitors are enthralled.

But not Murray, who fell 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3) to Delbonis, ranked 51 slots below him.

“I think a lot of the results I have had here over the years,” said a slightly perplexed Murray, “suggest I haven’t played my best here.”

He’s a Scot, but he once trained in Spain and spends a great deal of time in Miami, where the tennis tours go next. The dry air here, the slower courts, Murray contends, affect his game of booming serves. The man won Wimbledon, in 2013, the first British male in 75 years to be a champion at the All England Club. But it’s apparent he won’t be a champion here.

“I got into winning position,” said Murray, who had a 4-1 lead in the third set, “and didn’t take it. I think one of the reasons is because I didn’t serve like I should serve.

“I have the capability to serve 135 mph, but my first serve speed would have been 100, 105. I didn’t feel comfortable going for my serve. I felt like every time I went for it, I missed it. I didn’t have control of that shot at all.”

And so in his first tournament (other than Davis Cup team competition) since reaching the finals of the Australian Open, the 26-year-old Murray places only two matches.

Delbonis grew up on clay, and while there are hard courts at Indian Wells, they are not as slick or fast as, say, Flushing Meadows or certainly the grass at Wimbledon. “I feel good,” said Delbonis, “the surface is not too fast. For me, I can slice in that kind of court.”

He certainly sliced up Murray. It’s like facing a knuckleball or slow-curve pitcher when you like to hit fastballs. And no matter what you try, you still can’t make solid contact.

“I made adjustments,” said Murray. “For one, I stopped going for my first serve. I tried to get a higher percentage of serves in, which maybe was not the best decision. I did manage to get myself into a winning position. Also I started returning from way farther back ... I think with the return it worked. The serve didn’t work so much.”

In any sport, it’s a question of forcing the other player or team to play your game. Delbonis did just that. Murray’s backhand is strength, along with the serve. Delbonis went to Andy’s forehand. There’s so much that goes into tennis, as there is into football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer. Keep the opponent off balance.

“Yes, of course,” Delbonis agreed when asked if his strategy was to play to Murray’s forehand. These guys have coaches who scout as well as teach. They know the other guy’s weaknesses, not that they’re always able to take advantage.

“I know his backhand is pretty good,” Delbonis said of Murray, “when he’s quiet in one side. I know I have to play, hit harder to his forehand to get a good hit or a good position on the court, to be aggressive or to move it to him, because it is one of the keys to get a good point.”

Murray, who had played outdoors for five weeks until arriving at Indian Wells, said he did not underestimate Delbonis. “I thought he moved better than what I thought,” said Murray.

If that sounds a bit confused, well, after another tough day in the desert, so is Andy Murray. Again.

Bleacher Report: Novak Djokovic Affirms Status as World's Best in 2014 US Open Win vs Andy Murray

By Art Spander
Featured Columnist

NEW YORK — It was warm. It was late. But heat and time couldn’t stop Novak Djokovic. Neither could Andy Murray. On a night that rolled into the wee small hours of morning, Djokovic verified his standing as the No. 1 men’s player in tennis.

He wasn’t perfect and had his lapses, but as John McEnroe — who was once in the position Djokovic now stands — pointed out on the ESPN telecast after midnight, all players have their lapses. The question is how many and for how long.

Read the full story here.

Copyright © 2014 Bleacher Report, Inc.