—There are beautiful new arenas being built at the all of the major events these days; the Open debuted one this year when it unveiled its brand-new, 10,000-seat Grandstand. As successful as most of them are, they can’t recreate Armstrong’s chaotic energy. The stadium’s steep walls put fans on top of the players, and the fact that there were no luxury boxes meant that everyone’s attention was focused on the match below. It was the most democratic of show courts.
You can hear the difference in the highlights above. The fans are close enough that they sound as if they’re talking to the players—in true New York style, playing in Armstrong was like playing on the street. Evans, an ornery showman, has thrived at the Open in the past, and he did on this day as well.
—As you can see from these rallies, Evans, who at 5’9" gave up three inches and 15 pounds to Wawrinka, had to work extra hard to stay even. The Brit would end up running 3,300 more feet than Stan over the course of the match (14,439 to 11,097), which averages out to 10 extra feet per point. From the baseline, Wawrinka was doing the dictating; the only way Evans could counter was to rush the net 65 times. He won 41 of those points, often with perfectly timed forays forward and perfectly executed half-volleys and drop volleys.
—It should have been enough. Evans went up two sets to one, and in the fourth set he had break chances at 3-3 and 5-5. Evans also went up 4-2, 5-3 and 6-5 in the fourth-set tiebreaker, but he couldn’t hang on. We don’t see it here, but down match point, Wawrinka rushed the net; Evans had a brief look at a backhand pass, but couldn’t get it around Stan. Like many baseliners when they find themselves unexpectedly in the forecourt, Wawrinka had draped himself over the net.
The first crucial point that we do see comes with Evans up 4-2. Once again, he pushed toward the net, but this time Wawrinka’s backhand pass has too much pace and spin on it for him to handle, and he dumps his volley into the net. As well as Evans played and as far as he ran, he couldn’t overcome Wawrinka’s fundamental advantage in power. Stan found just enough of it when he needed it.