Open grounds crew working nonstop drying courts
September 4, 2003

Associated Press

EDS: AMs.

By JANIE McCAULEY

AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK -- Joe Sexton held a cigarette in one hand, a phone in the other and had a radio strapped to his belt.

Sexton and his grounds crew at the National Tennis Center have been feeling the pressure from U.S. Open officials to dry the courts as quickly as possible. But as soon as the courts are ready to play, the rain starts to fall and spoils things again.

And it didn't help matters Thursday that the Grandstand, one of three main show courts, was deemed unplayable because it couldn't be dried. The water level beneath the facility's lowest-lying court is so high that the surface feels soggy even when the water on top has been wiped away.

"We have to wait for the sun. If it sits in the sun for 12 hours, it could be playable again," said Sexton, the grounds crew supervisor, who's been working from 7 a.m. to midnight each day this week dealing with the constant rain.

The Grandstand is on the northeast corner of the grounds, nearest to three bodies of water: Flushing Bay, Flushing River and Porpoise Channel, so drainage is a problem.

Sexton points out that even when the tide comes in it can cause water issues for the court.

"The water that is in the ground is not draining at the rate you would like it to," U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said.

Since Wednesday, the USTA has drafted more than 150 additional people, including ballkids, to help with drying courts, adding to the 60 in place when the tournament started.

Also, 60 additional squeegees are being used in pushing water off the courts.

"We're stationed by certain courts ready to dry them," Sexton said. "I've been here 14 years and I've never seen anything like this. I don't really get that stressed out, but there has been a lot of pressure. We've got a lot of tired guys."

And a budget that keeps shrinking.

The crew also had to bring in 10 new dryers from Pennsylvania, costing about $800 each.

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BEWARE OF THE FLYING BALL: Chair umpire Lynn Welch hasn't had the best of luck this year in her post.

In the third set of 29th-seeded Francesca Schiavone's 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 15 Ai Sugiyama on Thursday, Welch was hit in the side of the head at the end of her right eyebrow when a ballboy tossed a ball toward the other end of the court. The blow caused her glasses to bounce into her nose, cutting her. Then it started raining again and Welch spent the delay icing her injury and getting taped up in two spots.

"I knew exactly what happened," said Welch, who was hit in the head above her ear in Miami on a late return of serve.

"I keep an eye out for the ball when it's whizzing by and I saw it coming out of the corner of the eye just before it hit me. I was thinking 'That's ironic. We just get back out here and now there'll be a delay because I'm hit.' ... Once I realized my vision was OK, I knew I wasn't going to be a detriment to the match."

Her prescription glasses were still intact, and it was a good thing, too.

The match began Monday but kept getting pushed off the court by a total of seven rain delays.

"It's definitely the longest (of my career)," she said. "It's been a challenge."

Welch, based in Hilton Head, S.C., was the chair umpire for the 2002 Open women's final, as well as in 2000. She's been a chair umpire since 1993.

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COVERS, PLEASE: Peter Lundgren, the coach of Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, was becoming anxious, calling everyone he knows Thursday to pass time.

"It's a disaster, this tournament," he said while he waited during the rain delay. "It's too bad. It was so nice the first week. You just try to stay focused. It's the same for everybody, but it's tough."

Lundgren hopes this week's rain will get Open officials thinking about covering the courts and having a better contingency plan for bad weather.

"They need it," he said. "They should have covers they can roll out and also have roofs on the two big courts. The weather is so unpredictable."

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CHARITABLE ANDRE: Andre Agassi's foundation will host an online charity auction and sell special ticket packages to the eighth annual, star-studded benefit held in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on Oct. 4. Each winning bidder will receive two premier seats, a commemorative program and an autographed photo of Agassi. The evening includes a star-studded cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, live and silent auction and performances by Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Billy Joel, Elton John and Dennis Miller.

Proceeds will benefit The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which helps underprivileged, abused and "at-risk" children in the Las Vegas community.

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