Five(ish) things you didn't know about the US Open 2018

  • 29/08/2018

New York is the sporting place to be for two weeks this time of the year. The US open is an awesome sporting event - full of drama, theatrics, athleticism and great food.

There are a few tidbits that you may not be aware of that strike me as strange, yet so very New York - and so very much The US Open.

I was aiming for five, but got to eight - how very New York of me.

Five-ish things you don't know about the US Open

 

1 - A Heineken beer costs US$11.50 - that's just over NZ$17 - and it's an ordinary sized can.

A special mixed US Open vodka drink in a plastic-type cup with the names of previous tournament winners is US$17 - which is lots for a Kiwi.

2 - In front of a crowd of 4949 at the West Side Tennis Club, Kiwi Onny Parun defeated American Stan Smith 6-4 6-2 in the first night match ever played at the US Open - it was August 27, 1975.

In modern times, night matches have been every day of the Open - and generally last well after midnight. However with a change in the TV contract, the last three days of the Open currently have 4pm starts.

3 - A first round loser in the singles events takes home US$54,000 - that's more than the average New Zealand wage, by a lot.

4 - The planes from La Guardia Airport, pretty much next door to the US Open, are diverted to a different flight path each year during the tournament.

Within an hour after the final, they fly over Arthur Ashe Stadium again. This is thanks to former mayor David Dinkins, who was a tennis enthusiast and convinced the airport to do so in 1990.

5 - Serena Williams has won a total of 23 Grand Slams singles titles - six of which were at the US Open. The next best woman in this year's draw is her older 38 sister Venus with seven. Roger Federer has 20 Grand Slams, five of which are in New York. Nadal is the second man on Slams with 17, and Novak Djokovic 13.

6 - The new Louis Armstong Stadium, which has a sliding roof, seats 14,000 people - it's incredible and mind-blowing to be on the court and look up. However Arthur Ashe Stadium seats a whopping 23,000, and is usually completely full on four to five occasions a year. Even half full, it's a crazy New York style atmosphere.

7 - Basically the men's final is sold out - however an official resale ticket is a minimum of US$303 (NZ$450), so there's no guarantee of a ticket. If you want something close to the action then you could hope for a resale ticket of approximately US$7100 - don't even bother trying to convert that.

8 - The best way for the general public to get to the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre and the US Open is catching the '7' train from Grand Central Station to Mets-Willets Point. It's around 16 stops and only costs a few bucks. It's also quite entertaining when there's a baseball game on at Citifield with the Mets, as tennis and baseball crowds mingle.

Dave Worsely is a contributor for Newshub.