Crews worked overnight to ensure that opening day of the U.S. Open tennis tournament would go off without a hitch, following the chaos and debris of Hurricane Irene, reports
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The first match started at 1 p.m. Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City following a long night for crews cleaning up debris.
“The crew was hard at work drying courts, replacing the banners on light posts that welcome fans into the gates, and getting the television booth outside Ashe hooked up for the first telecast Monday,” a U.S. Open news release said.
Both Serena and Venus Williams will play in the tournament, although both have suffered from injuries recently.
“Serena is a superstar. To be here in New York and have Serena back on the court healthy and playing incredibly will be exciting for fans for the next two weeks,” said Stacey Allaster, head of the Women’s Tennis Association.
ESPN analyst Luke Jensen went a step further, saying that Serena has a good chance of winning the tournament.
“The best player that every played the game is Serena Williams . . . She has a power game that no one ever played before. Somebody has to step up and take this from Serena.”
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