Arthur Ashe Stadium possesses all the glitz and glamour of the US Open. The largest tennis stadium in the world often hosts thrilling matches and stunning upsets later in the tournament. Ashe draws A-list celebrities, top ESPN announcers, and fans willing to spend excessive amounts of money. Missing from Ashe thus far in this tournament: competitive men’s tennis. To a lesser extent, this pattern holds for the other two show courts at the National Tennis Center.<\/p>\n
One of the great features that sets men’s Grand Slam events apart is the need to win three sets to win a match. This requirement helps foster huge momentum swings and tests the toughness of top players. Five setters bring drama to the event, but rarely in Ashe.<\/p>\n
As of close of play Thursday, 96 of the 127 matches in the men’s singles tournament are complete. 10 of these, over 10% of the matches played, were played on Ashe. It took until the last one, late Thursday night, for Tommy Paul and Nuno Borges for an Ashe match to go the distance. While this one match proved to be a late night Ashe epic, the men’s matches on Ashe thus far have been plain boring.<\/p>\n
The 20 men’s singles matches contested on other show courts brought similar results. Louis Armstrong Stadium and The Grandstand court can hold just over 15,000 and 8,000 fans respectively. Only three of the 20 matches played thus far on these two courts went five sets. Of course, Daniil Medvedev’s five set circus-like loss to Benjamin Bonzi created buzz across the tennis world<\/a>. Still, it is the only men’s five setter played on Armstrong to date.<\/p>\n