NEW YORK — The U.S. Open will begin today with tweaks to the day’s original schedule, including a two-hour delay for the start of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The U.S. Tennis Association said Sunday that the site of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament had “minimal damage” from Hurricane Irene.
The gates at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will open to the public at 8 a.m. MDT today, and matches will start as planned at 9 a.m. on nine of the tournament’s 13 courts, including Louis Armstrong Stadium.
At Arthur Ashe Stadium, the U.S. Open’s main arena, play is to begin at 11 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. The match that originally was supposed to be the first one played there — reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic against Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania — was switched to Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to end with the men’s final on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the 2011 terrorist attacks. Each of the past three years, rain disrupted the end of the tournament, pushing the men’s final to Monday and sparking discussion about whether the USTA should put a roof over a court.
The Associated Press
U.S. Open
A look at today’s opening day:
No. 1 seeds: Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Featured matches:
Men: Five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer vs. Santiago Giraldo and highest-seeded American, No. 8 Mardy Fish, vs. Tobias Kam- ke.
Women: 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova vs. Alexandra Dulgheru; 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova vs. 2009 U.S. Open junior champion Heather Watson; and two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams vs. Vesna Dolonts.
TV: Tennis Channel, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (live), 10 p.m.-11 p.m. (highlights); ESPN2, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. (live).
