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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the US Open
Dominic Thiem advances to first US Open Semifinal
Command performance from the 2-seed Dominic Thiem – who tonight, became the first Austrian to reach the Singles Semifinals at the US Open. Thiem and New York haven’t been best mates. His 2018 Quarterfinal remains a tournament classic, where he took Nadal 5-sets in nearly 5-hours. However last year, he fell in the 1st-Round. In 2016 and 2017, he faced Juan Martin Del Potro in Round-4. A knee injury kept him from completing the first. A year later, Delpo was violently ill, yet somehow came back from two sets down to win.
By finally reaching Flushing’s Final-4, perhaps the World #3 has cracked the curse. Perhaps he’ll make it back-to-back Major Finals on hard-courts. At the Australian Open in January, he earned his first hard-court victory over World #1 Rafael Nadal, then took out Alexander Zverev to reach his third Major Final — where he fell to Djokovic in five. Here in New York, Novak is out. Nadal took a pass because of the global pandemic. Thiem will have to eliminate last year’s Finalist on Friday, then either Pablo Carreño Busta or Alexander Zverev to claim his first Major.
There is no Roger, Rafa, Novak, but there is Daniil, Sascha and Pablo now. There are three other amazing players. Every single one of us deserves this first major title. Everybody will give it all. Once we step on the court, those other three are forgotten anyway.
Dominic Thiem
Huge Result for Alex de Minaur
By the way, standing ovation for 21-year-old Aussie Alex de Minaur, who completely out-hustled his first four opponents to make his Grand Slam Quarterfinal debut. His 3rd-Round win over Khachanov was a “light-switch” victory. Down 2-1, bageled in the second, he endured to win the match in a decider. Those 5-set, top-20 victories on the sport’s marquee stages build character and poise. They foreshadow promising futures.
Head to Head: Third meeting between these two players
[2] Dominic Theim -03- (AUT) | Quarterfinal Announcer Introduction
2-years-ago, he played one of the most memorable Quarterfinals in US Open history – battling for 5-sets and nearly 5-hours with Rafael Nadal. Tonight, he’s back – looking to earn a spot in his first US Open Semifinal. From Austria – 3-time Grand Slam Finalist, Dominic Thiem.
- QF — W | [21] Alex de Minaur -28- (AUS) | Score:
- R4 — W | [15] Felix Auger-Aliassime -21- (CAN) | Score: 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-1 | RECAP
- R3 — W | [31] Marin Cilic -38- (CRO) | Score: 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 | RECAP
- R2 — W | Sumit Nagal -124- (IND) | Score: 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 | RECAP
- R1 — W | Jaume Munar -105- (ESP) | Score: 7-6(6), 6-3 RET
[21] Alex de Minaur -28- (AUS) | Quarterfinal Announcer Introduction
At last year’s US Open, he earned his first career top-10 victory – defeating 2014 Finalist Kei Nishikori to make his Grand Slam 4th-Round debut. This year, he’s through to his first Major Quarterfinal. From Australia, Alex de Minaur.
- QF — L | [2] Dominic Theim -03- (AUT) | Score:
- R4 — W | Vasek Pospisil -94- (CAN) | Score: 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2
- R3 — W | [11] Karen Khachanov -16- (RUS) | Score: 6-4, 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
- R2 — W | Richard Gasquet -51- (FRA) | Score: 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5
- R1 — W | Andrej Martin -98- (SVK) | Score: 6-4, 6-3, 7-5
A New Reality | 2020 US Open Tennis Championships
In late February and early March, announcer Andy Taylor compèred two of the final professional tennis events before the global coronavirus pandemic put the skids on the 2020 season. In Doha, he hosted Aryna Sabalenka’s relentless run to the Qatar Total Open title. Then in Honolulu, he emceed Team USA’s Davis Cup Qualifier victory over Uzbekistan. Including Bob and Mike Bryan’s final professional match.
As U.S. coronavirus cases continued to mount, the day following Team USA’s 4-0 victory, all professional sports came to a grinding halt. Over the next five months, as Americans stayed home and “socially distanced,” nearly 6-million contracted the illness. Tragically, over 180-thousand perished. Worldwide, COVID-19 killed over 840-thousand and sickened 25-million (at the time of this writing).
New York hosts the resumption of the 2020 tennis season
Early on, New York City was the epicenter of COVID’s outbreak. The Billie Jean King National Tennis Center became prime real estate for New York’s coordinated pandemic response. Additionally, the state used Louis Armstrong Stadium as a warehouse to pack meals for patients, front-line workers and students dependent on the city’s school lunch program.
In late July, after New York “flattened the curve,” Governor Cuomo green-lighted the USTA’s plans to resume the 2020 tennis season in Flushing. Without fans. Without qualifying. Rather, the Western & Southern Open moved from Cincinnati to the grounds of the US Open. Furthermore, the USTA implemented strict COVID-19 testing policies. It limited the number in each player’s entourage. Additionally, it created a protective “Bubble” for all tournament participants at nearby hotels and on-site.
Announcer Andy Taylor | 19th US Open Tennis Championships
After a five month pause, with the coronavirus “politicized” and still spreading unchecked through portions of the population, Andy was hesitant when asked to be a part of the sport’s return. However, after carefully considering the USTA’s extensive health and safety protocols, he soon realized the US Open could in fact be one of the safest environments to avoid COVID’s spread.
Masks are mandatory. For crew, testing occurs every fourth day. To ensure best broadcast quality, the USTA understood that Arthur Ashe Stadium’s announcer would need to work without a mask. Therefore, they isolated Andy in his own booth. Thus, keeping production team members free from aerosols emitted during player introductions.
Rather than fly, Andy drove to Flushing. He uses his own vehicle to shuttle back and forth from the hotel to the venue, which limits his exposure to others. Additionally, this allowed Andy to bring his own hot plate and coffee machine, completely eliminating the need for others to bring him meals and supplies. Essentially, the Voice of the US Open is working from a bubble within “The Bubble.” Responsibly limiting contact with colleagues and players as much as humanly possible.
A new Grand Slam Global Pandemic Presentation
With the global emphasis on social distancing to avoid further outbreaks of COVID-19, the world of sport production is reinventing “the show” by harnessing new technologies that have emerged over the past decade. As always, the core goal is to meet fans where they are.
In other words, with fans exclusively watching on television – or on-the-go through mobile devices – the 2020 US Open “stadium show” is now geared toward the camera, rather than the ticket holder. This year, Andy and the stadium production team are working closely with ESPN to integrate the broadcast and stadium presentations. Instead of narrating player introductions exclusively for fans on site, intros and all aspects of the stadium show are now part of the broadcast product streamed to fans worldwide.
The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention.
Jowett | English translation of Plato’s “Republic”
Live sport presentation is a brave new world. Through perseverance and bold experimentation, the US Open continues to innovate; determined to feed each tennis fan’s hunger after five months of the world’s new and humbling collective-reality.
