Players revolt over playing in the rain
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Shanghai Daily, September 9, 2011
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Court workers riding blower machines remove water from the playing surface of Arthur Ashe Stadium after rain delayed competition in the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Sept 7, 2011. [Photo/Agencies] |
The US Open was in danger of spilling into a third week after play was suspended for the second day in a row on Wednesday due to rain and Rafael Nadal led a player revolt against the "dangerous" conditions.
Attempts by organizers to clear the backlog of matches from Tuesday's washout were thwarted when New York's fickle weather turned foul and play was suspended after just 16 minutes because of light rain and mist that made the Flushing Meadows courts slippery.
US Tennis Association (USTA) officials hoped to push ahead with the matches but leading players, including defending men's champion Nadal, joined forces to tell them they would only go back on when the courts were completely safe.
"We have to fight to change that, to have enough power to say we don't want go on court when it's raining," Nadal, who was trailing Gilles Muller 0-3 in the fourth round match when play was suspended, said. "I am sorry for the fans, but the health of the players is important."
Britain's Andy Murray and American Andy Roddick, who were also in action when play was suspended, joined Nadal to confront officials about the state of the courts. "It was still raining and the back of the court was soaked ... it was really, really slippery," said Murray, who was down 1-2 to American wildcard Donald Young with games on serve. "Obviously, the players want to play more than anyone but it's kind of dangerous.
"When I heard Rafa was going, I said 'I'll go and just mention it as well' and see what they say."
Roddick, who was leading Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer 3-1, said the players were right to voice their concerns.
"If it's up for discussion whether the courts are playable, then they're not playable," Roddick said. "We just wanted to make sure we weren't put in that position again, and I think we're all clear now."
The USTA defended their actions, saying they believed the courts were fit to play on but had agreed to take the players' concerns into account when they suspended play.
"Conditions may be not ideal, but still can be safe," the USTA said in a statement.
"However, if a player or players feel that conditions are unsafe, we listen to them, as we have always done, and the referee uses that information as part of his/her assessment on whether to continue or halt play."
The US Open has become a regular victim of rain in recent years with each of the past three men's finals being rescheduled from Sunday to Monday because of weather delays, a scenario that could happen again this year.
The disruptions have also reignited the annual debate over why there is no roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. The center courts at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon have retractable roofs while organizers of the French Open plan to cover up their main court by 2014.
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