The U.S. Open returned by welcoming spectators. The crowds were deep but most fans were just happy to experience tennis in New York again. In a far cry from the blowouts which sometimes happen during the opening rounds of the tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the two matches in the day session went the distance, delaying the start of the opening night ceremony and matches.
After Sloane Stephens beat Madison Keys in a third-set tiebreak, the No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2012 champion Andy Murray played a contentious five-setter, lengthened a bit further by Tsitsipas’s repeated off-court breaks which incensed Murray. Tsitsipas prevailed 2-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Murray wasted little time in ending the handshake.
As the first tennis balls were struck in earnest at the U.S. Open on Monday, thousands of frustrated tennis fans waited patiently to get inside for the first time in two years, stuck in a human traffic jam that left many feeling angry and sick in the hot sun. The biggest change for the 2021 tournament is that the fans are in the stands. They had been excluded from the 2020 tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic. But it took many of them a lot longer to get back inside than they expected.
In the end, it took more than two hours to clear out the backlog of people trying to enter. Some were lined up at the South Gate, joining the back of the queue hundreds of yards away, beyond the giant globe monument. Some lines of people intertwined with others and stewards did their best to control the flow amid the chaos as people complained and sweated in the midday sun. The announced attendance was 53,783 during the day session and 22,790 during the night session.
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In women’s Naomi Osaka started on a winning note and day 2 will see many star players in action like Ash Barty, Daniil Medvedev, and Novak Djokovic. The entire US Open 2021 is about Novak Djokovic who is chasing history at flushing meadows. In women too, Naomi Osaka is been watched most keenly as after announcing that she will represent Japan, henceforth and saying that she is under immense mental pressure. Ash Barty the second favorite on the other hand as looking cool as a cucumber.
Victoria Azarenka is showing that she still has tennis left in her as she cruised past T. Martincova easily. Kerber also started on a winning note and at least 1st day of the US Open saw no upsets. Talking about the Indian contingent, Rohan Bopanna has paired up with Ivan Dodig and will lock horns with the Aussie pair of Duckworth and Thompson on Tuesday.
Sania Mirza lost the finals of Cleveland is unseeded after a while and has paired up with C. Vandeweghe will start her campaign on Wednesday. US Open 20221 is going crazy as fans are chasing tickets and are entering the stadiums in numbers. The Grand Stand that has produced some of the most memorable matches will see a lot of action in the first week of the tournament.
