Mother Nature has not been kind to this year’s US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.
On the eve of the tournament, New York was battered by Hurricane Irene, and now the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are drenching the eastern seaboard and threatening to ruin the second and final week of action.
For the world’s best players, the next few days shape as a race to beat the weather and a test of their patience as much as their power and skill.
Tuesday’s entire program was canceled before a ball was hit because of showers in New York and the forecast for the rest of the week is just as bleak.
The postponement left tournament officials with a backlog of matches and forced them to reorganize yesterday’s schedule. Instead of four singles matches on the Arthur Ashe center court, there will be 10 singles encounters spread over three courts.
Each of the 20 remaining players — 12 men and eight women — will be in action on the same day, providing a galaxy of stars for the tennis fans at Flushing Meadows, but raising doubts about whether all the matches will be finished in time.
For some players, the delays and interruptions are a nuisance. For others, they may come as a welcome relief.
Rafael Nadal collapsed after his last match because of severe cramps caused by the intense humidity on court. The prospects of cooler temperatures for his clash with Gilles Muller of Luxembourg would hold obvious appeal.
Nadal’s match was one of four fourth-round clashes that was still to be played and was pushed to the front of the line with organizers hoping to get those done before starting the quarter-finals.
Andy Murray and Andy Roddick had their matches moved to smaller showcourts to try and speed things up.
“Look, if the rain comes, that’s what it is. You can’t change that,” Rodger Federer said. “We’ve had to come back the next day several times already. That’s just a part of our game.”
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