My husband and I are avid tennis fans. It has always been a bucket list item for us to attend a grand slam event. Yesterday we attended the U.S. Open in NY. Good things first: our hotel, the Essex House provided a low cost shuttle to the event, brilliant. Entry to the event ran very smoothly, cheerful, helpful staff made sure that everyone was admitted quickly. Once in, we found a lot of eating choices that all seemed to be run efficiently. The match we saw was breathtakingly exciting, Nadal vs Pouille, 4 hours, 5 sets with Rafa losing in a tiebreaker. On to what we didn't like, the cost of tickets, we spent over $1,000 for 2 Loge level seats, outrageous for round 4! The venue, Arthur Ashe Stadium is in dire need of a rehab, pretty crummy for a stadium that hosts a major event. We go to the BNP Paribas in Indian Wells every year and the difference in venues is startling. The Tennis Garden wins hands down. Now to the final and most important flaw, leaving the match. It was truly one of the most frightening experiences of my life. As the match ran late, the evening crowd had already arrived. Some genius (?) official made the decision to close the main entry for exiting and 22,000 attendees were herded down one narrow stairwell. I am shocked that no one was injured, perhaps they were and I'm just not aware. Additionally, not ONE staff member was in sight to enforce crowd control. It was very, very scary and I'm positive in violation of every possible fire and safety code. If anyone was hurt, I encourage them to file a lawsuit! I would not attend this event again, Wimbledon next time! read more