U.S. Open: Aces and faults, Day One

ACE. Shade. On a decidedly hot, humid day, it was nice—lifesaving, really—that 60 percent of the seats in both Ashe Stadium and the new Armstrong Stadium—even with their retractable roofs open—were in the shade.

FAULT. “When you lose and go home and the match you could have been playing is on TV, and a big one, you definitely don’t want to watch,” John Isner said. He had lost the grueling 6 ½-hour Wimbledon semifinal against Kevin Anderson. So, instead of the Wimbledon final, “I watched a re-run of the Rose Bowl, which gave me much better feelings.” Isner’s college team, the Georgia Bulldogs, won that double-overtime re-run against Oklahoma.

ACE. The wide, open concourse level in the new Armstrong Stadium provides out-of-your-seat viewing so that nobody has to miss action waiting for changeovers.

LET. The massive draw sheets, with updated results, are still on the Tennis Center grounds, but a bit harder to find. No longer on the south wall outside the old Armstrong Stadium, they now are tacked onto a low fence near the center’s East gate.

ACE. International diversity. In the men’s and women’s singles competition, the Open started with representatives from 51 nations.

ACE. Scoreboards on the outer courts provide updates from other matches during changeovers.