Rob Minto

Sport, data, ideas

Month: September 2012

Murray’s US Open victory: in numbers

2: number of players other than Federer, Djokovic or Nadal to win a slam since Marat Safin in 2005. (Murray and Del Potro)

4: different winners of the tennis majors in 2012. The last time that happened was 2003.

5: Murray won a major in his 5th final, the same as coach Ivan Lendl.

25: winners minus unforced errors deficit for Murray in the final. In all previous rounds he was in credit.

35: break points in the match, with 17 breaks of serve

54: shots in the longest rally of the match.

286: majors since last British winner in 1936. h/t Andy Murray website

294: minutes, the longest US Open final, along with Lendl-Wilander in 1988. h/t Guardian. The only longer final in history is the 2012 Australian Open final.

Plus killer fact to give Murray complete credit, h/t John Crace of the Guardian:

When [Federer, Nadal and Djokovic] won their first major they did so against opponents who had never won a major as well. Murray did so against a man who has won five grand slams and was the defending US Open champion.

The problem with Ashe

Poor old Arthur Ashe. The stadium that bears his name is not a fitting legacy. Every year there is the same problem at the US Open – rain, a Monday final (the 5th in a row) and the debate over building a roof.

The US Open has always put TV interests over those of the players, and the latest final weekend delay will only fuel the debate. But here’s the issue. Ashe is simply too big to put a roof on, without being completely rebuilt. There are bigger stadiums with roofs, of course. But to adapt what’s in place is really hard, given the way the tied stands slope upwards.

Compare Rod Laver arena in Australia, the main court of the Australian Open. I’ve overlaid the Google maps images of both stadiums. You can see how Ashe swallows it up easily.

Source: Google Maps

The US Open needs to get it’s act together, and scrap the plan announced this year that had no roof.

Otherwise, this is what the US Open will be known for:

 

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