NEW YORK – Fans who pass a long wait to get to the US Open Final Bode and sang “let us in! Let us inside!” When the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started Sunday after a delay.
With extra security measures because President Donald Trump watched the match from a suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the US Tennis Association pushed the start of the match back half an hour from its original 2 p.m.
But thousands of fans were still far from the entrance to the Arena when the game eventually started.
Some said they were never informed that there would be a long wait to arrive after they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. As soon as they went through security to enter the site, as usual, there was a stop at that time to be checked for the stairs in Ashe, which has nearly 24,000 seats.
“We acknowledge that improved security for the president’s visit to the US Open may have contributed to delays for those present,” said the secret service in a statement. “We sincerely thank every fan for their patience and understanding. The protection of the president required extensive effort, and we are grateful to the American tennis community and our New York Public Safety Partners for their essential cooperation and support.”
A sign on the video board above the Ashe entrance told fans that the game was pushed back to 2:30 because of the “security measures,” but some said that it was the first they were aware of it.
“On a plane if you are delayed, you will receive notifications,” said Diana Diaz, who traveled with fiancé Derrick Cutler from Florida and also attended the last Saturday of the women, when there was no waiting time for Ashe.
They ate ice while they were in line to pass the time, while fans asked what caused such a delay.
“This is not a delay. This is something else,” Diaz said.
Sinner said he did not know that there was a much smaller crowd than normal for a grand finale when the game started.
“I felt that it was still very loud. I saw some empty seats, but I didn’t hesitate that they would be full and packaged,” Sinner said. “It’s not something I worried that no people will come.”
USTA spokesperson Brendan McINTYRE said e -mails were sent to card holders Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and a push message was sent to the US Open -app at 9 am on Sunday.
But many fans never saw it, with thousands still stuck in a row that struck all the way to the practice lanes at an entrance when the game started. While a shot of crowds was shown during ABC’s reporting, Omroep Chris Fowler noted that it seemed that fans “were not told enough to be prepared for this”.
In fact, some early people, as usual, went to the shops and concession around the site after rinsing the meadows. One fan said she would have bypassed that and come straight in line for Ashe if she had known how long it would take.
The competition was shown on one of the large screens above the entrance so that fans could watch while they waited, while another showed some of the competition statistics.
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