Another Grand Slam tournament got
underway… it is the US Open - a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern
iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S.
National Championship, for which men's singles was first contested in 1881.
Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final tennis
major comprising the Grand Slam each year; the other three are the Australian
Open, French Open and
Wimbledon
. It is held
annually in late August and early September over a two-week period. The main
tournament consists of five event championships: men's and women's singles,
men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for
senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been
played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA
Billie
Jean
King
National
Tennis
Center
at
New York City
,
New York
,
United States
.
Technically, the US Open has tie-breaks in every set,
including the last set. The other three Grand Slam tournaments have tie breaks
in every set other than the last set (i.e. the fifth set for men and third set
for women), and therefore their last set continues indefinitely until a
two-game lead is reached. The Men and Women
single are 128 draws – the winner takes home $1,900,000 and the runner gets $
950,000; the losing semi-finalists get $ 475,000; those in the 1st round get
$23000.
Photo courtesy
: Davidwboswell at en.wikipedia
In last year tournament [2012] - Djokovic
and Samantha Stosur were the defending men's and women's champions
respectively. Both were unsuccessful in their title defences; Stosur being
narrowly defeated by World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals, and
Djokovic defeated in the final by Andy Murray.
Murray
became the first British man since
Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the first man to win
both the US Open and the Olympic men's singles gold medal in the same year. In
the women's draw, Serena Williams won her fourth US Open title, and first since
2008, by defeating Victoria Azarenka in the final.
This year, it is claimed that there will
be more dining choices than ever before around the grounds of the USTA Billie
Jean King National Tennis Center, enhancing the US Open experience and ensuring
that by the time fans leave, they’ll only be hungry for more tennis. A wide
variety of globally- and locally-inspired menus and several new and innovative
dining spaces have been added to create a truly unique and unparalleled
culinary experience for fans. In addition, this year’s menu includes more than
40 percent of all produce locally-sourced from the region. It is stated that there would be 250-person staff to serve guests at 60
concession stands, five restaurants, 100 luxury suites and the Player’s Lounge.
The tournament for sure would be colourful
but it is going to be the green that would define the tournament. The US Open Green Initiative, aimed at making
the US Open responsible for its ecological footprint and creating a sustainable
future, has become a recognized leader in green efforts at sporting events.
Since the inception of the initiative in 2008, the USTA has diverted more than
850 tons of waste through recycling and composting, saved more than 1,100 tons
of greenhouse gas emissions, offset enough electricity to power 600 homes for
one year, recycled almost 1.5 million plastic bottles and entertained nearly 2
million fans who have arrived via mass transit. In 2012, the US Open’s Green
Initiative diverted close to 50 percent of the waste from the landfill through
recycling and composting.
It is claimed that green initiative at the
2013 US Open would include – putting the compost made from waste collected
during 2012 US Open would be put use to
feed plants throughout the site at the 2013 US Open. The Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) will supply 605 metric tons of carbon offsets to offset
the carbon emissions generated from player travel to the event as well as from
the fuel consumed on-site to run the tournament. The USTA collects the tennis
balls used during the matches and player practices to reuse in USTA tennis
programs and to donate to various community and youth organizations throughout
the
United States
.
From the kitchens at the US Open, more than 12,000 gallons of food grease will
be converted into biodiesel fuel. More than 180 tons of food and compostable
plates, utensils and napkins will be collected to be turned into compost for
landscape and farming uses. The USTA will continue to welcome 60 percent of its
fans via mass transit.
US
Open tickets are printed on paper composed of 30 percent post-consumer waste,
and parking books, parking visors and coupon books are printed on paper
comprised of 10-15 percent post-consumer waste.
Now some news on the players- Daniel Nestor became the first doubles player
to reach the 900 match wins milestone, as he teamed up with fellow 40 year old
Leander Paes for a 6-4, 6-4 win over Paul Hanley and John Peers on Wednesday
night in the Winston-Salem Open quarter-finals. Nestor, who made his ATP World
Tour debut as a 16 year old, has compiled a 900-358 match record and 80 titles
over his illustrious career. He notched his first win in 1993 in
Auckland
, alongside
Sebastien Lareau. Four players have reached the milestone in singles
action: Jimmy Connors (1253), Ivan Lendl
(1071), Guillermo Vilas (929) and Roger Federer (910). Nestor and Paes are
playing together for just the second time, after making their partnership debut
in 1994 at The Queen’s Club.
With regards –
S.
Sampathkumar
.