Monday marked the first day of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York, and once again there was British interest as Laura Robson and Dan Evans stepped onto the famous hardcourts in the opening afternoon.
6) We saw two Court Ones today
We don't normally harp on about Court Ones, but if there's a closer stadium to the old Court One at Wimbledon than the Grandstand at Flushing Meadows, then please let us know. It's got the overhangs. You can stand and watch proceedings standing up on a platform. The only thing that's missing is the cocktails. It's really sad to note that they are going to tear the place down and put up somewhere new. The coffers of the US Tennis Association wins, but do the fans?
7) We won with the weather
I'm not going to harp on about this - especially if you went to the evening session at Arthur Ashe, which was hit by a downpour a few minutes after Serena Williams demolished Francesca Schiavone - but the weather during the day was really lovely. Yeah, there were a few teardrops from the sky here and there, but nothing really to worry about.
8) Everyone loves an opening ceremony
Opening ceremonies are undoubtedly cool. But why have one at night, when the tournament has already started? It's a little nutty. Was the drum group and Lenny Kravitz REALLY necessary? Oh, and while we're sure that the corporates enjoyed it, it certainly didn't help the fans who wanted to watch Roger Federer (we saw enough of them wearing 'RF' hats and shirts) play on Monday night - his game was rained off (he'll play on Tuesday).
9) Missing you, Murray
Andy Murray didn't play on Monday. And he's not playing on Tuesday, either. Thanks to a quirk of TV scheduling, he's playing on Wednesday. And the media's always been quick to claim that the Wednesday start will be damaging to his campaign. So, we have that excuse then!
10) Queuing is an horrific experience... for a match on the outside courts!
Driving into the promised land of Flushing Meadows and the Billie Jean National Tennis Center, we expected to be able to park up and be in pretty swiftly. Instead, we parked about two miles away from the stadium, just behind the old World's Fair grounds, and we got a bus in. But that wasn't the worst element: we had to wait well over an hour in a queue to get in (both entrances), thanks to the fact that there were just SIX metal detectors for around 50,000 people. Oh, and there was no-one to tell you what was going on - which frustrated everyone dearly. But once you're in, everything is really accessible and that was pretty great. Every court, apart from Arthur Ashe, is enterable on the 'Grounds' ticket... and that gives the tennis fan more than enough tennis for the day.
