Nadal says it's noisy under US Open roof, despite changes

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Nadal says it's noisy under US Open roof, despite changes

2017-08-30 16:04 Last Updated At：21:30

It's too loud under the U.S. Open roof for Rafael Nadal.

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."

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."

Storms battering the Midwest bring tornadoes, hail and strong winds

2024-05-08 13:32 Last Updated At：13:52

DETROIT (AP) — Severe storms continued to barrel through the Midwest early Wednesday, unleashing a curtain of heavy rain, gusty winds and tornadoes that forecasters warned could spill out of the region.

The tornadoes were first spotted after dark Tuesday in parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, while portions of Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri were also under a tornado watch, according to the National Weather Service.

As the storms raged on in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh warned that a tornado in northeastern Ohio could cross into Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were also under a tornado warning.

Hours earlier in southwestern Michigan, two tornadoes blitzed the city of Portage near Kalamazoo on Tuesday night, destroying homes and commercial buildings, including a FedEx facility that was ripped apart.

There were no serious injuries immediately reported, but city officials said in a news release that the twisters knocked out power to more than 20,000 people. Most of them would be without power until late Wednesday, city officials said.

At one point, about 50 people were trapped inside the FedEx facility because of downed power lines. But company spokesperson Shannon Davis said late Tuesday that “all team members are safe and accounted for.”

Tuesday's storms came a day after parts of the central United States were battered by heavy rain, strong winds, hail and twisters. Both the Plains and Midwest have been hammered by tornadoes this spring.

On Monday night, a deadly twister in Oklahoma tore through the small 1,000-person town of Barnsdall. At least one person was killed and another was missing. Dozens of homes were destroyed.

Aerial videos showed homes reduced to piles of rubble and others with roofs torn off. The twister tossed vehicles, downed power lines and stripped limbs and bark from trees across the town. A 160-acre (65-hectare) wax manufacturing facility in the community also sustained heavy damage.

It was the second tornado to hit Barnsdall in five weeks — a twister on April 1 with maximum wind speeds of 90 to 100 mph (145 to 161 kph) damaged homes and blew down trees and power poles.

Before Monday night's powerful tornado touched down, the National Weather Service had warned that “a large and life-threatening tornado” north of Tulsa was headed toward Barnsdall and the nearby town of Bartlesville.

At the Hampton Inn in Bartlesville, several splintered 2x4s were driven into the south side of the building. Chunks of insulation, twisted metal and other debris were scattered over the hotel’s lawn, and vehicles in the parking lot were heavily damaged with blown-out windows.

Hotel guest Matthew Macedo said he was ushered into a laundry room to wait out the storm.

“When the impact occurred, it was incredibly sudden,” he said.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who toured the twister's damage on Tuesday, said it was rated by weather researchers as a violent tornado with winds reaching up to 200 mph (322 kph). Stitt said he and legislative leaders have agreed to set aside $45 million in this year’s budget to help storm-damaged communities.

“Oklahomans are resilient,” Stitt said, “and we’re going to rebuild.”

Areas in Oklahoma, including Sulphur and Holdenville, are still recovering from a tornado that killed four and left thousands without power late last month.

The powerful storms come amid a wild swing in severe weather across the globe that includes some of the worst-ever flooding in Brazil and a brutal Asian heat wave.

Across the U.S., the entire week is looking stormy. The eastern U.S. and the South are expected to get the brunt of the bad weather through the rest of the week, including in Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, St. Louis and Cincinnati — cities where more than 21 million people live. It should be clear over the weekend.

Murphy reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press journalists around the country contributed to this report, including Rio Yamat, Heather Hollingsworth, Colleen Slevin, Jim Salter, Kathy McCormack, Sarah Brumfield and Beatrice Dupuy.

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