End Of An Era For Grandstand Court At US Open
Yesterday marked the end of an era. It was actually supposed to have ended last September, but we were thankfully given one last brief reminder of how great it was. The grandstand court at the US Open has seen its final match. In fact, it was only supposed to be used as a practice court this year but problems with the court surface on one of the outer courts forced it back into use for the fist two days of the Open. The change was so unexpected that there was no “hawkeye” available on the court and so no challenges were allowed. But, ever faithful, the grandstand was still there, providing the most intimate setting of any court.
I grew up going to Forest Hills to watch the US Open. I must have only been 6 or 7 but I can still remember when Chuck McKinley slammed his racquet into the grass only to have it bounce up and break his nose; when Clark Graebner (I believe) was getting heckled by a fan during warmup and turned around and fired a ball right at the spectator to shut him up; all the Aussie greats – Laver, Rosewall, Stolle, Newcombe, Emerson; and my favorite, the tragic Mexican, Rafael Osuna who was even more graceful and effortless than Federer moving around the court. But not even those days could compare to the intimacy you had with players on the grandstand court at the Open.
People forget that when the Open moved to Flushing Meadows, Arthur Ashe stadium did not exist. Louis Armstrong was the showcase court and the grandstand was essentially the “other” show court. And there were so many classic matches. Louis Armstrong fans would look over the railing to catch the incredible upset that was far more enjoyable than the match on their court. And the atmosphere was electric as the overhanging Armstrong kept all the cheering reverberating through the grandstand. I’m guessing that there were more five set matches on the grandstand than any other court at the Open – I wonder if they keep records like that. Readers are free to leave a comment about memorable matches they may have seen on that special court.
In recent years, we’ve taken to going to the Open on the Thursday or Friday of the first week with just a grounds pass, getting in line around 8:30 or 9am, and then making a beeline for the grandstand when the gates opened. Invariably, you would get three good competitive matches between players usually ranked between 10 and 20 in the world. With a front row seat, you literally could reach out and touch the players when they came back to towel off. I’ll never forget when Gael Monfils played a deep ball incredibly casually, missing his shot. A fan asked in a normal tone, not a yell, “Gael, what happened?”. Monfils turned and replied in his French accent, “I do not know. I thought the ball was out but when it landed it was in.” Or when the handsome Tommy Haas made my wife swoon when he gave her a big wink after a winning point. You could only feel that intimacy on the grandstand court.
The court will be demolished sometime before next year’s Open as part of and upgrade to the grounds. And players and fans have given positive reviews to the new grandstand, although I haven’t seen it yet. But I’m pretty sure there will be no other court that has the history and the intimacy of the old grandstand court. May it rest in peace.