Bizarre reason why all US Open matches were SUSPENDED with players stranded on courts

The US Open was halted for several minutes on Monday – all matches were stopped – after the Hawkeye system was disrupted by a fire alarm.

Players like Caroline Wozniacki and Daniil Medvedev were absent from the field during their last 16 games at Flushing Meadows.

It soon became apparent that a fire alarm had gone off in the broadcast building, which also houses the team responsible for electronic line calling at the US Open.

Attendees were evacuated, meaning play at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium and other stadiums had to be stopped for six minutes.

“After determining that this was merely an alarm, play resumed. In total, play was stopped for six minutes,” a statement from tournament organizers said.

Initially, the fans in New York were only informed by the referees about technical problems on the fields, who also had to explain the bizarre situation to the players.

The delay came during Medvedev’s fourth-round clash with Nuno Borges over Arthur Ashe, but it couldn’t stop the Russian from reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-0 6-1 6-3 victory.

Wozniacki was meanwhile halfway through her match against Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, ranked number 22, against Louis Armstrong.

Previously in New York, British No. 1 Jack Draper defeated Tomas Machac to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

At 22, Draper is the first British man to reach the last eight of the US Open since Andy Murray in 2016. The last man or woman to do so was Emma Raducanu in 2021, when she won the title.