It makes sense the US Open take place in Queens. It’s considered the loudest and raunchiest of the four majors.
And now, even the rain makes noise.
Last night the roof closed, but it just drizzled. Today it was closed for Andy Murray’s match against Spain’s Marcel Granollers and the heavens opened up.
Needless to say the rain, like the rest of New York, was noisy.
“I don’t think it was too different to the other night when I played, but when the rain came it was certainly loud,” Murray said. “I mean, you can’t here anything, really. I mean, you could hear the line calls, but not so much when the opponents — you know, when he was hitting the ball or even when you’re hitting the ball, really, which is tough purely because we’re not used to it. That’s what makes it challenging.”
Murray plays the game with his ears as well as his eyes, so it definitely was an adjustment for him. “It helps us pick up the speed of the ball, the spin that’s on the ball, how hard someone’s hitting it,” he said.
“You know, if we played with our ears covered or with headphones on, it would be a big advantage if your opponent wasn’t wearing them. You know, it’s tricky. You know, you can still do it, but it’s harder, for sure.”
It didn’t matter that much as Murray won the match, 6-4 6-1 6-4.
It’s why they pay him the big bucks. Murray is in the unique position because he played under the Wimbledon roof as well, which he said was “quieter.”
“It’s definitely louder,” he said. “I don’t think it changed the conditions on the court as much as it does at Wimbledon. We are also probably more used to playing on it — we are used to playing on indoor hard court than indoor grass, obviously.
“But, yeah, I don’t know. You maybe don’t notice it as much here I think as much as Wimbledon. When the roof is on the humidity picks up significantly; whereas here it’s always humid really, you know, when the roof is open.
“It’s definitely quieter at Wimbledon, though.”
But that stands to reason, because the English crowd is more refined.
Even the rain.
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