Playing on main show courts at Grand Slams has its benefits, as Novak Djokovic is finding out in his first-round match against Mariano Navone at the US Open. The Serb is currently in action on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the roof was closed after rain hit the first night session of the US Open.
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As it stands, five men’s singles matches and two women’s singles matches were suspended on the outer courts and postponed to Day 2. Only the Arthur Ashe Stadium and the Louis Armstrong Stadium have roofs at Flushing Meadows, while the outer courts, including the Grandstand, are at risk of match suspension in bad weather.
Some of the match stoppages were unlucky for certain players, as they were very close to securing victory. The match between Emma Navarro and Lois Boisson on Grandstand was stopped with the home favorite winning the first set and having a 4-2 lead in the second set. The same applies to the match between Adrian Mannarino and Thiago Agustin Tirante on Court 6, which was stopped in the fifth set, with the Frenchman 5-2 up and on the verge of completing a great comeback after losing the first two sets.
A couple of other matches were stopped with the result still in balance. The Court 7 clash between Rei Sakamoto and Aleksandar Vukic was stopped in the fifth set, with Sakamoto having a 4-3 lead in the fifth set, with the Japanese player having an all-important break of serve. The match between Kimberly Birrell and Petra Marcinko is on tenterhooks as well, with the match being stopped at 3-3 in the second set, and with the Croatian having won the first set.
While the match between Sebastian Gorzny and Raphael Collignon on Court 11 was stopped in the third set, with both players tied at one set apiece, the Stadium 17 match between Federico Cina and Alex Michelsen was stopped after the American had won the first set. The match between Martín Landaluce and Jacob Fearnley was among the least advanced, with Landaluce leading 4-3 in the opening set on Court 5.
With matches being postponed, the break might prove crucial for players lagging behind in close matches or in those where the result is still in balance. As per the original schedule, a total of 48 matches were scheduled to be played on Day 2. With the addition of the seven uncompleted matches, the count goes in excess of fifty matches in a day, even though some of them might take little time to finish.
The only match being played is between Djokovic and Navone, where the Argentine recovered from a 0-3 deficit to win the first-set tiebreak against the Serb. The match fits the recurring trend for the 24-time Major champion, who has been rusty in his first-round matches at Slams, which is understandable, as he has not played many matches between the Grand Slams throughout the season.
The day has a couple more matches yet to begin, featuring Venus Williams and Alexander Bublik. But those contests are set to take place on the two roofed showcourts, which are not weather-dependent. The roof on the Louis Armstrong Stadium is closed for the Bublik match, which was not the case for the previous match featuring Elina Svitolina. However, rain did not get a chance to interrupt that match, as the Ukrainian closed it out within an hour.