Well of course the courts are going to be crowded to see Verdasco
Cuevas-Guccione was totally empty, as is Troicki vs whoever he is playing. You need less popular faves ibreak4coffee
But on topic, the info everyone gave is absolutely spot on
The only time I had trouble getting tickets was on Labor Day (a holiday here the first Monday of September), after two rained out days, and also the day of Agassi's last match :lol: every other time I've been able to come, but in the occasion that I can't get a grounds pass, the cheapest Ashe seat is like $5 more, and I end up just buying that. I highly highly recommend qualifying also, not only is it not at all crowded and... FREE!, but it's a nice way to see the grounds and get situated with the layout if you come for main draw. During main draw it will be more crowded, but since you've been to Wimbledon... it is not at all crowded like that. Even when it's "crowded" you do not feel like you are cattle
Also a side note, if you go to quallies, I would do your souvenir shopping then if you plan on buying a t shirt or anything. I have no idea what size or shape you are :lol: but there have been times where they will sell out of size small t-shirts in the popular styles by the first day already. It happened to me two years ago. SO... get it at quallies, plus there will be no wait at the kiosk or in the shop.
Have I mentioned yet that quallies are awesome? You can see the main draw players practicing up close and if you are the sort who wants to get autographs or pictures with players, quallies are a great time to do it because the players are not hounded by fans. Tip! You will see everyone crowding around a chain link fence watching players practice by court 4. It's true, those are the main practice courts. BUT, during quallies, walk around the outside courts and who knows who you will find just hitting on an empty court
And what I love at the USO, is having a grounds pass, staying all day, and there is always SOME match still going on somewhere on an outside court well into the night. It doesn't have the electricity of a night match on Ashe necessarily, but it still has a certain atmosphere that's a lot of fun.
Oh, and one last tip for you, if you come to the USO, please don't forget that unlike Wimbledon, with a grounds pass to the USO you have access to AMAZING seats in Armstrong and also the Grandstand. You can see top players up close in Armstrong, though it will fill up in there, so you sometimes have to stake out a seat early in the day if there is a "big" match later on.
Okay no, one real last tip. If you have your ticket and you want to get into the grounds faster go to the other entrance
There are two entrances to the grounds and nearly everyone goes in through the same one :lol: The reason being that if you take public transportation to the grounds, that's where you end up. Whether you take the subway or the LIRR to the tennis, take note of what I am about to tell you :lol: When you get off the train (or subway) you will walk down this ramp towards an entrance. DONT GO IN THERE. Go to the left of the entrance and there's a path/road (you will probably see a few other "in the know" people going this way) and just follow the border of the grounds until you get to the next entrance. I assure you... the line at this entrance will be shorter
There will be no queue at all for qualifying, this is a main draw tip only