NEW YORK _ The roof was closed, then it opened, and thousands cheered.
And therein a major milestone was reached Monday night by the United States Tennis Association on the first day of the U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
There wasn't a drop of rain in the region, and the chances of any this week in the New York area are slim, but Monday night the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium was operable, it was official, and the USTA wanted to make sure it was the star. Years in the making as part of a half billion dollar tennis center reinvention, the two 800-ton panels were opened to the heavens before the start of the play.
Novak Djokovic played Jerzy Janowicz in the first match Monday night, followed by Americans Madison Keys against Alison Riske. The matches were played under the 62,500 square foot opening, the largest of any tennis stadium in the world with a total roof area of over 236,600 square feet. Raising the roof at Ashe Stadium cost about $150 million.
Patrons of the opening night ceremony, featuring rock icon Phil Collins and "Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr., found the massive roof closed and the arena filled with wafting dry ice fog, a touch of surreality. After statements by Billie Jean King, Mayor Bill de Blasio and USTA chairman Katrina Adams, Collins took the stage to sing _ what else? _ "In the Air Tonight."
It was a dramatic moment, the roof opening and Collins' voice filling the renewed stadium.
There was a bit of drama to come in Djokovic's opening match against Janowicz. After the fifth game, Djokovic called for the trainer. A three-minute injury timeout was taken while the trainer deeply massaged the back of his right arm above the elbow. Djokovic was able to serve out the first set, but a left wrist injury suffered during the Rio Olympics put a slight question mark on the defending champion's chances coming into the Open this year.
After winning the first two Grand Slams of the year at the Australian and Roland Garros, Djokovic was knocked out of Wimbledon by Sam Querrey and after winning at Toronto (his seventh victory of the season), was ousted in the first round of the Olympics by Juan Martin Del Potro. Djokovic said then that a left wrist injury, one that he couldn't identify, was bothering him and he chose not to play in Cincinnati as a tune-up for the Open.
But after losing the second set to Janowicz, Djokovic sat in his chair and cringed, appearing to be flexing the right arm in pain. He had never played Janowicz, who only had two matches on hardcourt this summer and lost both of them. He had been sidelined the first half the season by knee and back injuries. Because of the injuries he has a protected ranking of No. 94, which got him directly into the Open, but his actual rank at the start of the tournament was 247.
Janowicz, from Poland, had one significant Grand Slam run when he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2013, losing to Andy Murray. He had made it to the third round of a major a total of seven times.
And he was making the Open's dramatic first night just a little more so.
