Just two games into the resumption of the Andy Roddick-David Ferrer fourth-round match Thursday on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Roddick pointed out a crack in the court to chair umpire Carlos Bernardes. Roddick, Ferrer, Bernardes and other officials looked at the court and discussed the issue, with the consensus being that a 'bubble' formed from water underneath the surface. ESPN2's Darren Cahill later noted that the surface was "quite spongy" and saw multiple cracks. One of the officials noted to the players that, "unfortunately it's going to be an ongoing issue," and also said, "your safety is No. 1, guys." This all comes a day after Roddick and other players questioned tournament referee Brian Earley about player safety.
Roddick asked Ferrer if he wanted to stay out on Armstrong, but both players soon left the court, with Roddick leading 4-2 and serving.
Roddick then implored Earley to immediately move the match to Court 13, which they eventually did. Roddick and Ferrer wanted to get right back on court as with the rain canceling matches over the past two days as the winner might have to play four days in a row.
Roddick eventually won the match 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
"It was not nice playing on Court 13, but it was nice when you are junior, no?" Ferrer said. "But nothing special, no? We have back luck because they close the court,. We need to play in the Court 13 because we stopped two days and we need we are going to try to play in this court. So it's normal, no? I hope next year we can play in indoor court."
Crews are still working on to repairs to Armstrong. The quarterfinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Andrea Petkovic, which was scheduled to be played there, was also moved to Court 13.
In a statement, the USTA said: "We have faced an inordinate amount of rain in August and through the early part of September, which saturated the courts. All the courts were completely dried prior to play. However as the sun began warm, or bake the courts, evaporation of these saturated conditions began to surface on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Until this situation is rectified, no further play will occur on Armstrong."
—Ed McGrogan & MC