IBM is bringing fans closer to the action & Roddick is spilling all the details on this year’s new features.
Former world No . 1 and 2003 US Open champ Andy Roddick — who ask no introduction , but gets one nonetheless — spend 12 years on the professional lawn tennis racing circuit , dally the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer . Despite a lengthy and impressive CV , the now - retired singles star has been a fan of the sport even longer . So it only make sense he team up with tech giant and longtime tourney partner , IBM .
" I used to subsist in the burrow below Arthur Ashe Stadium . It ’s a act of a unlike experience now envision it from the exterior and sit with everyone else and watching downward , " Roddick order Thrillist in an interview just days beforehand of the main lot . " I was a fan before I dally professionally and I ’ll be a fan for the rest of my life , so the legal age of my tennis life will be spent as a fan and not a player . My first sentence at the US Open was when I was nine years old and I hope my last trip will be when I ’m 90 . "
IBM has maintain a 30 - year relationship with the United States Tennis Association ( USTA ) . In fact , it was behind theUSOpen.orglaunch in 1995 , and introduced the tournament ’s mobile app intimately 15 years later . The brand remain on the cutting bound — which Roddick himself can take the stand to . In quislingism with the USTA , IBM Watson continues to one - up itself , create an unparalleled fan experience at the Grand Slam . This twelvemonth is no exception .
Courtesy of IBM
" IBM does all this so that when the information make it to the US Open website or US Open app , it ’s easy . They ’ve combine all the stuff you need to know — from power index to impulse ranking , " Roddick explicate . " It ’s been such an important part of the US Open . 700,000 multitude attend in person and over 10 million engage in these platforms . IBM is the company that makes it run and makes it such a cracking fan experience . "
The brand ’s entire strategy , which includes AI technology - fueled match brainwave , is to bestow fans closer to the action at law — whether they ’re watching at habitation or from the Arthur Ashe stands .
The IBM Match insight allow you to analyze millions of datum points throughout the tourney , while Win Factors yield you transparence — aka the why — behind those insights . The breakdown includes item down to a player ’s Margaret Court open stats , rankings , read/write head - to - head disk , recent performance , and even media comment . It ’s fundamentally a one - block off knowledge shop .
Courtesy of IBM
" If you ’re a tennis lover that maybe does n’t follow the ins and out on a 52 - week basis , but you really love the US Open , IBM Watson fundamentally account for , ' Hey , who are the red-hot players go in , what are we depend for ? ' " Roddick explained . " It ’ll even give you the tools to see who ’s the favorite in dissimilar equal - ups . "
But as Roddick knows all too well , the US Open is so much more than just another stoppage along the tour . Organizers have built New York ’s Slam into an experiential result — even for those uninterested in court surface stats and role player rankings . transformation : you do n’t have to be a lawn tennis fan to have a good sentence at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center .
" The USTA does such a great Book of Job of making it an event outside of just the tennis matches . Whether they have their big orifice ceremony , their fully grown musical acts , and around the grounds there ’s large solid food . They ’ve brought in some of the best chefs in New York , " Roddick said . " If you watch one or two matches , you’re able to still spend six more hours at the courts just with the pure entertainment of it all . It ’s gone over time from a tennis tourney to an event full stop . "
Courtesy of IBM
For its part , American Express unveiled its own Modern - and - improved on - internet site activationsat the tournament . posting members will get exclusive admission to the Centurion Suite , where buff can enjoy mantrap curated by executive chefsCedric Vongerichten , Michael Solomonov , andIgnacio Mattos . Amex will also have its iconic receiving set , a checkout - free store , and complimentary dish halt , among other fringe benefit .
You ’ll find counter service option like Fieldtrip , Fuku , Hill Country , Taqueria Nixtamal , and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream within the Food Village culinary hall . Or , there ’s the option for a more luxe sit - down experience between matches . Among seven high - end dining terminus are chef Ed Brown and Masaharu Morimoto ’s seafood - centrical ACE and a Cuban - American mashup led by chef David Burke , called Mojito .
Statistics ( and dining ) by , the former American champion is just as excited as the rest of us for Serena Williams ' last obeisance at the US Open .
Courtesy of American Express
" I ’ve never talked less about who I thought the actual winner will be , and that ’s because the only storyline for week one is perish to be Serena Williams , " he said , laugh . " I still get goose skin when I blab about it because I do n’t require to see her go . For us , trying to come up with superlatives to excuse her vocation and explicate the impact she ’s had on tennis — not just the sport but as a crossover star . She ’s make a bigger collapsible shelter for lawn tennis , which I do n’t even bang how you explain how worthful that is . "
