Murray shuts out the din to ease through
ANDY MURRAY played the first ever competitive match under the Wimbledon roof, but nothing could prepare him for his first outing in such conditions at Flushing Meadows.
The combined effect of the New Yorkers’ constant chatting and rain battering down on the roof made for a rare din as he fought his way through to the third round of the US Open last night.
However disconcerting, it still allowed him to complete a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Marcel Granollers. He was left awaiting the winner of the match between France’s Gilles Simon and the Italian Paolo Lorenzi.
Back in 2009, Murray overcame Stan Wawrinka when the Centre Court was first transformed into an indoor arena, but there was a church-like hush there compared to what prevailed in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The volume was particularly ramped up after the first set, when a fresh downpour brought an end to play outside.
‘When the rain came it was certainly loud,’ he said. ‘You can’t hear anything, really. You could hear the line calls, but not so much when he was hitting the ball or when you’re hitting the ball. That is tough purely because we’re not used to it.
‘We use our ears when we play, not just the eyes. It helps us pick up the speed of the ball, the spin, how hard someone’s hitting it. I don’t think I’ ve ever played in anything like that, it was so loud.
‘If you played with your ears covered or with headphones on, it would be a big disadvantage if your opponent wasn’t wearing them.’
He was, however, grateful for at least being able to get his match done, rather than waiting for the weather to subside, which it did later on. ‘The players will adjust, I will adjust next time,’ he said.
This being America, nobody is squeamish about telling you that the new roof, which is actually a whole separate structure to the huge stadium, cost $150million (£113m) to build.
Wimbledon, a private club, has always considered it vulgar to discuss the cost of the Centre Court cover. Guestimates often put it at £100m, although reliable sources say the actual figure was closer to £ 150m, due to the expense of protecting the old arena and the roof being an integral part of the building.
Murray reckoned the climatic changes, in terms of how heavy the air becomes compared to outside, is much greater at SW19.
Court No 1 will be covered by 2019, still short of the three now in operation at the Australian Open. It leaves Roland Garros, beset by planning issues in its 16th arrondisement location, as the only one of the Grand Slams without a weather-proof facility.
Flushing Meadows is different to the others in that the public are simply unable to keep quiet during the matches, leading to a constant hubbub whether the stadium is open to the elements or not.
Yet the effect is only multiplied with a roof, giving it the feel almost of a public swimming baths at peak time. That was added to after the first set with the rain and the huge air conditioning system being cranked up.
Of course it was the same for both players, but as Rafael Nadal reported from Wednesday night, the audio soundtrack to the new environment takes some getting used to.
Whether or not it was that, Murray was unusually uptight in the first set against a player he has known since his teenage days of training in Barcelona.
Even after going an early break up he looked anxious against world No 45 Granollers, whose game is an awkward proposition with his flat, jerky backhand and delicate touch.
Or it could be that, with Novak Djokovic in an uncertain place, the 29-year-old Scot is feeling the pressure of being some people’s favourite for the title. His body language suggested as much.
Murray, with his first serve percentage dropping below 50 and his forehand regularly thudding into the net, failed to serve out the first set at 5-3, despite having three points to do so.
There then followed an epic 10th game of cat and mouse that finally ended when he managed to clinch a seventh set point with a cross-court forehand.
The Scot looked much more comfortable in the second set, with the rangey Granollers seemingly sapped by the two long games at the end of the first.
Murray broke at 4-4 in the third and then served it out with few dramas, although overall his firstserve percentage ended on 43. He must have been doing something right to drop only nine games.
The rain meant delays to the matches involving the two other British players in second-round singles action, Naomi Broady versus Agnieszka Radwanska and Dan Evans against Germany’s Alex Zverev, 19, the youngest player to reach the ATP top 25.