1. The US Open Will Remain An Outdoor Tennis Tournament

The roof, which can close in about seven minutes, will still only be used when necessary, such as when it rains or when inclement weather is a “strong probability”.

2. One Person Has The Final Say About Closing The Roof

In his 25^th year as tournament referee, Brian Earley will have a new role: Deciding when to close the roof. “His decision is final,” according to the USTA, which runs and owns the US Open.

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3. What Happens When A Decision Is Made?

1. Earley notifies the “roof control booth”.

2. The stadium shutters surrounding the upper bowl get closed.

3. The air management system is activated.

4. All doors leading from the concourse areas to the Club and Promenade levels will be closed.

4. If The Roof Closes During A Match…

In general, if the roof closes during a match, the roof will stay closed until the match is finished.

5. Will The Roof Stay Closed All Day Then?

That’s up to the tournament referee, Earley.

6. Half and Half?

Nope. The roof will be either fully open or fully closed.

7. Will Fans Get To Use The Roof For Sun Protection?

No, although that would be quite the umbrella. Per the USTA, “The roof will be used only for inclement weather or the strong probability of inclement weather”.

Source: USTA

Day 4 of US Open Qualifying on Friday saw American brothers Christian Harrison and Ryan Harrison take very different paths into the US Open main draw, while #NextGen players Karen Khachanov of Russia and Jared Donaldson of the U.S. also moved into the final Grand Slam of the year.

Christian rallied from a set down on Court 17 to defeat Steven Diez and qualify for his first Grand Slam main draw, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 22 year old, currently ranked No. 688 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, saved two match points in his first-round win over Luke Saville. Christian had never won a round in Grand Slam singles qualifying prior to this week.

More: Sweet Success For Harrison In New York

Older brother Ryan made it through qualifying in far less dramatic fashion, not dropping a set and scoring a convincing final-round qualifying win over Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2. The 24 year old is making his seventh consecutive appearance in the US Open main draw.

No. 14 seed Donaldson didn’t face a break point in his final-round qualifying match against Santiago Giraldo, needing just 61 minutes to advance into his third US Open main draw, 6-2, 6-2.

“I’m really happy to be in my third US Open. At least for the Americans, this is the biggest event of the year. Hopefully I can have a lot of success in the main draw,” said Donaldson. “It’s a grind to get through qualifying because everyone wants to make it into the main draw of a Grand Slam. It’s not easy and I had never done it before until today, so it’s a great accomplishment for me.”

Khachanov weathered a mid-match surge from fellow #NextGen star Noah Rubin and a crowd that was very much behind the New York native. The Russian was unable to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third set, but broke Rubin in the next game to qualify for his first Grand Slam main draw, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Tecnifibre player Marton Fucsovics of Hungary qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw by defeating Lorenzo Giustino of Italy, 7-6(2), 6-1. The 24 year old has seen his Emirates ATP Ranking improve by nearly 60 spots this season.

Several other players also prevailed on Friday to qualify for their first Grand Slam main draw: No. 26 seed Saketh Myneni of India, Guilherme Clezar of Brazil, Jan Satral of the Czech Republic and Ilya Ivashka of Belarus.

Roberto Bautista Agut won a roller-coaster match on Friday to move into the Winston-Salem Open final, his first on American soil. The No. 2 seeded Spaniard was a game away from an easy victory, but surrendered a 5-0 second-set lead against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki before finally prevailing 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2 in over two hours. Bautista Agut improved to 3-0 in semi-final appearances this year and will look to claim his third ATP World Tour title in 2016, after winning in Auckland (d. Sock) and in Sofia (d. Troicki).

“I was a bit tight when trying to close out the match. It’s a normal thing, though. Everyone is a bit nervous when trying to win the match,” Bautista Agut said. “I was very disappointed to lose the second set after leading 5-0. But the good thing is that I was able to recover and set aside the bad feelings in the third set. I work hard on the mental side of my game and I think it is one of my strengths.

“The conditions were quite difficult as well. It was maybe one of the hottest days I’ve played a match on this year. We were both tired, something we often need to overcome in a three-set match.”

The hot weather and fast-playing hard courts suited Bautista Agut’s flat groundstrokes. From the first game, the 28 year old looked to attack Troicki’s forehand wing with pace and depth. He secured the lone break of the opening set in the 12th game with back-to-back forehand winners, then raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set. With his back against the wall, Troicki unleashed a barrage of unplayable groundstrokes. The Serbian swept the next five games before evening the contest in a one-sided tie-break.

In the deciding set, a calm and collected Bautista Agut rediscovered his rhythm. The Spaniard only dropped four points on serve and broke Troicki twice to secure his 38th win of the year (27-8 on hard courts).

“We were both struggling with the heat. He definitely started playing better in the third set. He came out with some good shots and I was flat,” Troicki said. “I’m disappointed in the loss but still proud of how I fought.”

“I’ve already played four great matches, so I am happy to be in another final. Happy as well that I took a wild card,” said Bautista Agut, who was a late addition to the tournament.

On Saturday, the No. 17 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings will attempt to join Novak Djokovic (7), Andy Murray (4), Dominic Thiem (4) and Stan Wawrinka (3) as the only players with three or more ATP World Tour titles in 2016. His final opponent will be fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. It is the third all-Spanish final of the year and the first in the U.S. since Fernando Verdasco beat Nicolas Almagro in Houston in 2014.

Carreno Busta bested first-time ATP World Tour semi-finalist John Millman 6-4, 7-6(5) in a match featuring relentless returning from both players. The Spaniard, who has yet to drop a set this week, broke serve four times and closed out the win in one hour and 45 minutes.

“It was a tough match. I started well with a break of serve and served out the first set,” Carreno Busta said. “In the second set, I made a few mistakes with my forehand and Millman started to play better. The key for me was to keep fighting all the time. I was down 5-3 but then was able to come back and win in the tie-break.”

The 25 year old sets a career best with his 29th win of the season and is a victory away from his maiden ATP World Tour title. He is into his third final of 2016, having lost to Pablo Cuevas in Sao Paulo and to Almagro in Estoril.

Doubles Final Set

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Henri Kontinen downed second seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach the doubles final. Garcia-Lopez/Kontinen saved four break points and broke serve three times in the 77-minute win.

Their final opponents will be wild cards Andre Begemann and Leander Paes, who overcame a slow start to win 1-6, 7-6(5), 10/4 against third seeds Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Unusually, Lindstedt/Qureshi lost despite not facing break point during the match. 

Rafael Nadal shared some unfortunate but true news on Friday at the US Open.

“The Big Four,” he said, “are getting older.”

At 30, 29, 29, and 35, respectively, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are getting older. But they, including Nadal, still have found ways to dominate the game’s biggest tournaments, including ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and Grand Slam championships.

Since 2010, the Big Four have won 54 of the 59 Masters 1000 crowns and 24 of the 27 Grand Slam championships. In New York, Nadal said he feels ready to do his part to add another Grand Slam championship to the Big Four’s collective resume.

“It’s obvious that we will not be here forever. It’s true that Andy and Novak today are creating distance from the rest,” Nadal said. “Let’s see. I am excited about this part of the season.”

The final stop on the U.S. hard-court swing has traditionally been favourable to Nadal, the fourth seed in New York this year. The two-time US Open champion (2010, 2013) also finished as a finalist in 2011 and reached the last four in 2008 and 2009. “I’m very excited to play here,” Nadal said.

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The tournament will mark his first Grand Slam championship and only third overall tournament since withdrawing from Roland Garros on 27 May because of a left wrist injury. The 30 year old was set to challenge for his 10^th title in Paris before missing his third-round match and the next two and a half months.

“I had been playing great before the injury,” said Nadal, who won Monte-Carlo and Barcelona on clay before Roland Garros. “I have been playing at a very high level…. I think I am practising well.”

Read More: Nadal: ‘I Need To Keep Competing’

The left-hander returned to the ATP World Tour earlier this month at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he beat World No. 19 Pablos Cuevas in straight sets before falling to #NextGen star Borna Coric in the third round.

“I am better. I am a little bit better. It’s obvious that when you have been [out] two months and a half you need a little bit of time,” Nadal said of his wrist. “It’s true that the wrist bothers me a little bit less every day.”

He will open his 12^th US Open against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, who reached the fourth round in New York in 2012 but is 7-20 this season.

Big changes in the beginning of 2016 summoned a big season for Andy Murray so far, one that puts him in a position to become just the fourth player in the Open Era – Rod Laver (‘69’), Roger Federer (’06-’07, ’09) and Novak Djokovic (’15) – to reach all four major finals in the same year. 

Also, should Murray hoist the US Open trophy in two weeks’ time, the second seed and 2012 champion will move to first place in the Emirates ATP Race to London, unless Djokovic is the man he beats in the final.

“I had, after the Australian Open, quite a big change in my life,” said Murray, whose daughter, Sophia Olivia, was born 7 February. “Becoming a father for the first time – [that’s] the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

“Tennis isn’t the most important thing in my life anymore. Probably when I was younger and didn’t have a family, then it was the most important thing. I think having that different perspective helps a lot. Maybe [I’m] not putting so much pressure on myself and before a match I’m not stressing as much as I used to.”

Murray’s fresh perspective seems to be working in his favour. The Dunblane native started the year strongly with a runner-up showing in Melbourne and maintained his momentum. Murray’s 2016 record is 50-7 and he’s added four more trophies to his cabinet, including titles at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Rome, Queen’s Club, Wimbledon and a gold medal in Rio.

“I would imagine if I’m lucky I’d be playing at this level for three, four more years, max,” Murray, age 29, laughed, “I hope I’m still playing like this when I’m 38 years old.”

Coming off a final showing at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati (l. to Cilic), Murray looks to put last year’s US Open result (l. to Anderson in the fourth round) far behind him. In the same half as Stan Wawrinka, the Scot opens his campaign this year against Czech Lukas Rosol, who he’s met twice before (Murray leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0).

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Despite an up-and-down past few months by his standards, top seed Novak Djokovic said he still feels like he’s at the top of his game and that he’s ready to defend his US Open title in New York starting next week.

The two-time US Open champion (2011, 2015) will look to secure his third Grand Slam championship of the season and his 13^th career major title. His third championship in New York would bring him one title closer to all-time ATP World Tour greats Rafael Nadal, this year’s fourth seed, and Pete Sampras. Another New York crown would also give Djokovic his 48^th “Big Title”, helping him pass Federer as the No. 1 “Big Title” King.

“I obviously had a phenomenal Grand Slam career that I’m very proud of and very grateful for. I’m 29 at the moment and believe that I’m at a peak of my abilities as a tennis player. I’ll try to keep that peak as consistent and enduring as much as possible,” Djokovic said. “It’s a privilege to be mentioned alongside all the legends of the sport that have won ten-plus Grand Slams and made history books.”

The Belgrade native will look to return to his customary Grand Slam championship dominance after his Wimbledon hiccup earlier this season. Djokovic’s third-round loss at SW19 to American Sam Querrey was his earliest defeat at a Grand Slam championship since 2009. It also snapped Djokovic’s 30-match Grand Slam championship winning streak, the best of the Open Era.

“I’ve been very fortunate to play on a very high, consistent level at Grand Slams,” Djokovic said. “The third-round loss… allowed me to reflect on things and allowed me to take some time and really regroup.”

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The Serbian more than bounced back, though. He didn’t drop a set en route to his record 30^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto (d. Nishikori).

“I’ve had a phenomenal season – definitely rank this season one of the best that I’ve had in [my] career,” said Djokovic, who is 51-5 this season.

During recent weeks, he said his left wrist has started to bother him but that he’s feeling better and confident heading into the US Open. He has reached at least the semi-finals in Flushing Meadows the past nine years.

Djokovic Through The Years At The US Open

Kei Nishikori is riding major momentum into this year’s US Open. The World No. 7 reached the final at the Rogers Cup in Toronto (l. to Djokovic), a result which helped him clinch the 2016 US Open Series men’s title. 

“I think I have been playing well this summer,” said Nishikori in his pre-tournament press conference on Friday ahead of the US Open. “I took a couple of days off after Cincinnati, and physically I’m feeling good.

“If I can carry that confidence from the summer I think I will have a good chance to go further these two weeks.”

Two years ago at the US Open was Nishikori’s Grand Slam breakthrough. The Japanese star barrelled his way through the draw, defeating Milos Raonic (fourth round), Stan Wawrinka (quarter-finals) and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic (semi-finals) en route to the championship match. Making history by becoming the first Asian man ever to play for the title at a Grand Slam, Nishikori’s quest was halted by Marin Cilic in straight sets.

“I have great memories,” he said. “Things changed a lot also for me… I think I’m a little more patient and playing much better than last year, two years ago.”

The 26 year old from Japan will look to erase memories of last year’s US Open campaign. He was ousted in the first round by then-World No. 41 Benoit Paire in five sets. This year, as the sixth seed, he opens his campaign against Germany’s Benjamin Becker. 

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“He has a great serve, [he’s an] aggressive player,” said Nishikori, who leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head record 2-1. “[It’s] not going to be easy, but I hope I can have great preparation these few days and [be] ready for Monday.”