It's too loud under the U.S. Open roof for Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal, of Spain, returns a shot from Dusan Lajovic, of Serbia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Even though the U.S. Tennis Association tried to lessen the noise in Arthur Ashe Stadium after the retractable cover's debut during last year's tournament, there was still quite a bit of ambient sound when the top was shut because of rain Tuesday.
"Too much noise, no?" the No. 1-seeded Nadal said after beating Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2 in the first round. "I was not able to hear the ball when you are hitting, no?"
Nadal, who counts two U.S. Open championships among his 15 Grand Slam titles, actually participated in the first match contested under the shut roof at the 2016 U.S. Open, when the $150 million sliding cover made its debut atop the event's main arena. Back then, he called it an "unbelievable improvement," because it finally allowed for play when it rains in New York. The man he beat that day, Andreas Seppi, was the one who made a point of saying, "There really was a lot of noise."
Madison Keys, an American seeded 15th, played with the roof closed Tuesday night and was struck by the sound level.
"Truly, it was the loudest court I've ever played on in my life. I'm assuming it had to do with the roof just holding all of that noise in," Keys said. "It took a while to get used to it."
Roger Federer, meanwhile, shrugged when asked about the noise after his five-set victory over American teenager Frances Tiafoe. It was Federer's first match under the roof, because he missed the tournament a year ago.
"I didn't think it was that bad, to be honest," Federer said. "I think when the crowd really got into it, it was really cool. It was a great atmosphere."
Roger Federer, of Switzerland, warms up for a match against Frances Tiafoe, of the United States, under the closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Some players and spectators described the sounds last year as being similar to a rushing waterfall, a result of a combination of equipment in the stadium and 20,000-plus fans speaking.
The USTA pledged a year ago to try to improve the situation and spokesman Chris Widmaier said Tuesday that steps had been taken:
—a cellphone tower above the stadium's broadcast booths was moved;
—old air conditioning equipment in the same spot was replaced with modern units that he said are much quieter;
—sound-dampening material was placed above other AC units located outside of Ashe.
Widmaier acknowledged that last year's "background noise level ... needed to be, at a minimum, reduced, if not eliminated."
Told of Nadal's complaint Tuesday, Widmaier agreed "it was loud in there today, especially with the roof closed." He said the USTA plans "to continue to work with sound experts" to see what else can be done.
Another player who spent some time under the roof in Ashe on Tuesday was French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, whose first-round victory was completed there after being shifted from Court 17 because of the rain.
"For me, was fine, but I was there only, like, three games," she said. "Probably not enough time to really hear that noise or realize something like that."
Nadal said the noise under the roof at Flushing Meadows is worse than when the covers atop arenas at Wimbledon and the Australian Open are closed.
"I understand it's a show, at the end of the day, and I enjoy that. I feel part of this, of course. But under the roof, we need to be a little bit more strict about the noise, in my opinion, no?" he said. "Because all the noise stays inside, and this is difficult, no?"
Widmaier said the USTA expects things to be less problematic as the two-week tournament continues.
"What we noticed last year is that during the first week of the competition, there was noticeable crowd noise, both with the roof open and closed. Of course, that's exacerbated when the roof is closed. However, we also noticed that as the tournament progressed, and the matches became more compelling, the crowd noise reduced," he said. "It is early in the tournament, and we expect that as the tournament goes on, there will be more of a hush in the seating."
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).
Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.
That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.
In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.
Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.
In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.
“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.
Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.
It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.
“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.
It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.
While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.
“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.
Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.
Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
