Measured eloquence and torrential rain were in the air at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday as Victoria Azarenka held forth on the “bizarre” double standards surrounding Covid vaccinations, Sloane Stephens branded the sport’s bathroom break dawdlers “scammers”, and the roof on Louis Armstrong Stadium failed spectacularly to do its job.
Three days before the start of the US Open, it was announced that spectators over the age of 12 would be required to prove they have had at least one coronavirus jab. There is no such requirement for players, however, among whom vaccine hesitancy is high.
Azarenka, who kept her bid to reach a fourth US Open final on track with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, said the disparity between the freedom allowed to competitors and the restrictions imposed on the public was strange.
“I want to start this conversation between our players, because to me it’s a bit bizarre that fans have to be vaccinated and players are not,” said the former world No 1, whose win against Paolini set up a mouth-watering third-round showdown with former French Open and Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza.
“In my opinion, it’s inevitable that it will be mandated at some point, like other leagues are doing. I don’t see the point of stalling it, really, because I think we all want to be safe, we all want to continue doing our jobs, and I know there is a lot of discussions about it.”
Azarenka added that while she respected the right to freedom of choice, personal decisions should be based on scientific fact. “I respect everybody’s opinion, as long as it’s not conspiracy theory. You know, if you actually have decent knowledge, and looked into research and have your facts and stats and research, that’s a different conversation. But I feel that that part of [the] conversation, that you need to be knowledgeable [about] what you’re saying, is missing in a lot of players. I hope that, as an association, we make the best decision for our business, for our health, for the tournaments, for the public.”
Meanwhile, the fallout from Andy Murray’s criticism of Stefanos Tsitsipas’s penchant for extended bathroom breaks continued. Tsitsipas incurred Murray’s wrath after leaving the court for eight minutes between the fourth and fifth sets of their epic opening-round match on Monday. Murray, who said the delay affected him physically and that he “lost respect” for the Greek, wryly observed on Twitter the following morning: “It takes Stefanos Tsitsipas twice as long to go to the bathroom as it takes Jeff Bezos to fly into space.”
Stephens, who retweeted Murray’s quip, said she “thought it was hilarious”. Asked about the issue of lengthy mid-match breaks following her emphatic 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow American Coco Gauff, the former champion backed the Scot’s stance.
“I can’t speak for what happened in that match, but I do know on the girl’s side, there still is a lot of that,” said Stephens, who could face fellow former winner Angelique Kerber in the next round if the German wins her rain-delayed match against Anhelina Kalinina. “It’s gamesmanship. I think there definitely needs to be a rule or changes. They make a lot of rule changes for smaller things, like they took one minute off the warmup. If someone goes to the bathroom for nine minutes, no one says anything. Six, eight minutes is a long time to leave a match. That changes the whole momentum of a match. If you’re changing your clothes, what are you changing? What are you doing in there?”
To much hilarity, Stephens then continued in response to a male journalist: “I think there was a rule a couple of years ago where girls could only … it was like a three-minute rule or something in the bathroom. If you ever changed out of a wet sports bra, which I don’t think you have, you would know how difficult that is. But that is maybe like a five-minute. When you get into six, seven, eight, nine minutes, OK, what are you doing in there? Do you need help? I can come help you. Like, what’s happening? I think that’s more where the issues are, because it just becomes pure gamesmanship.”
Tsitsipas came under scrutiny again during his 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0 win over Adrian Mannarino in the night session, boos resounding around Arthur Ashe Stadium after he once again left the court for eight minutes at the end of the third set. Mannarino, who asked for balls with which to hit serves during the delay, did not win another game. “The rules are there to be followed, no?” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “If I break a rule, sure, I’m guilty. I agree, I’m not doing something right. If I’m staying within the guidelines, then what’s the issue?”
An altogether more rapid leak occurred on Louis Armstrong Stadium, where the match between Diego Schwartzman and former finalist Kevin Anderson was twice suspended as teeming rain was blown through gaps in the roof. The storm, caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, eventually saw the match moved to Ashe, where Schwartzman, the 11th seed, completed a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-4 victory.