There was a great deal of concern about what Hurricane Irene would do to the East Coast over the weekend, and that included the facilities that will hold the 2011 U.S. Open. But it’s impact was vastly overrated, and the U.S. Open should be able to start on Monday, as planned, without very much deviation from the original plan. According to CBS New York, Arthur Ashe only sustained minimal damage and should be able to host the matches it is scheduled for on Monday without restriction.
The tournament began on Monday with tweaks to the day’s original schedule, including a two-hour delay for the start of play at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The U.S. Tennis Association said Sunday that the site of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament had “minimal damage” from Tropical Storm Irene.
Transportation is also expected to be back up and running for the tournament, so anybody who needs to make their way out to Flushing should have the ability to do so. Matches are scheduled to start at 11 am on Monday, with the opening match in the center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium set to begin at 1 pm.
Tropical Storm Irene, which has apparently lost its status as a Hurricane, did not do as much damage as expected to the facility and any damage it did cause is not believed to have anything to do with the conditions of the actual playing surfaces. The seats in the stands may need to dry out a little bit, but in terms of any damage that would cause delays in the tournament, that doesn’t seem to be the case for the most part.