Major distractions for players at raucous venue

Whether it is the thumping music, the rowdy spectators or the aroma of marijuana, maintaining concentration presents a huge challenge for players at the world's most raucous Grand Slam – the US Open.

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NEW YORK — Whether it is the thumping music, the rowdy spectators or the aroma of marijuana, maintaining concentration presents a huge challenge for players at the world's most raucous Grand Slam – the US Open.

“There’s a lot of noise this year,” said France’s Adrian Mannarino.

Mannarino, 37, who played in the main draw at Flushing Meadows for the 15th time, wondered whether the distractions are too much.

“I find it’s a bit of a circus on the court — people move between games, sometimes between points. We let everything happen a little too much. It’s still tennis, not football!” he said.

Mannarino was speaking after his second-round match on the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre’s Court 11, where noise from the giant, 23,000-capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium nearby — the largest arena in tennis — can be a distraction. He eventually lost in the last 16.

“When a match ends on (Ashe), the music is blaring, people are making noise…it makes it harder for all the players to concentrate,” lamented the left-hander.

The unrelenting background noise is a far cry from the religious silence prevailing at Grand Slam venues like Wimbledon’s Centre Court.