Kevin Anderson could hear the clang of fans thumping their sneakers into the metal bleachers during his fourth-round win over Paolo Lorenzi at the temporary Louis Armstrong Stadium during last year’s United States Open. The noise sounded like a toddler brandishing a wooden spoon against the side of an oversized pot.
Anderson also was unnerved by the shadows that crept along the back of the court, the result of trees hanging a bit too close to the end of the makeshift structure.
But Anderson, a lanky South African who would go on to reach his first major final at the 2017 Open, was still fortified by the support of the crowd that packed into the 8,500-seat structure and did his best to focus on the match rather than the environment.