By Shrivathsa Sridhar<\/p>\n
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) \u2013 Arthur Ashe Stadium\u2019s noise and spectacle are a big part of the U.S. Open\u2019s appeal but Iga Swiatek said on Saturday that she did not mind swapping the tournament\u2019s biggest, most boisterous venue for the more intimate surroundings of the Grandstand.<\/p>\n
With a capacity of nearly 24,000, the main showcourt is the beating heart of the year\u2019s final Grand Slam and one of tennis\u2019s loudest stages, dwarfing the outside venue where Swiatek secured a 7-6(3) 7-6(3) third-round victory over Marie Bouzkova.<\/p>\n
However, the Polish eighth seed said she was comfortable playing in front of a little over 8,000 fans in a picturesque stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Ashe is really alive. Sometimes too much, I\u2019d say,\u201d Swiatek told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis court is nice. Honestly, I don\u2019t see any negatives about it. It has fewer screens. It\u2019s smaller in a way that\u2019s more normal, I would say, because Ashe is huge. The court seems small compared to the green part that you have around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to play on that court. The Grandstand seems nice and normal, a nice court. I don\u2019t really mind, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swiatek was not alone in finding Flushing Meadows\u2019 biggest stages slightly overwhelming.<\/p>\n
After his 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 6-3 defeat by Belgian Alexander Blockx on Louis Armstrong Stadium, Italy\u2019s fifth seed Flavio Cobolli said the noise levels at the U.S. Open were unlike anything that players typically encounter on the tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said the first day, we always play with the silence. We\u2019re always used to playing with nobody moving, nobody talking, with a great atmosphere,\u201d Cobolli said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere it\u2019s really different. We have a great atmosphere, but it\u2019s very, very loud. For us, it\u2019s very tough to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we have to play like this for more weeks (on tour), because if you come here and there\u2019s a different rule, it\u2019s very tough for us. I didn\u2019t lose because of the noise, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)<\/p>\n