Rain washes out Tuesday's Open schedule
Tennis fans sit in the rain in the upper deck of Arthur Ashe Stadium as bad weather delays the start of play at the 2011 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Sept. 6, 2011) Credit: Getty
Rain struck again at the U.S. Open Tuesday, throwing the playing schedule out of kilter for a sixth consecutive year.
The weather forced Open officials to call off both the day and night sessions shortly after 1:30 p.m., canceling a total of 54 matches, which included doubles and juniors play on 14 courts and featured four fourth-round men's matches and two women's quarterfinals.
Most crucial among the makeups are the men's fourth-round matches, because the other fourth-rounders were completed on Monday. Even without further delays, a player in the bottom half of the draw -- which includes defending champion Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Andy Murray -- would have to play four matches in five days if he makes it to the final, scheduled Sunday.
Nadal and Murray experienced a similar squeeze because of rain in 2008, when remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna stopped the Nadal-Murray semifinal in the third set on the tournament's last Saturday (while Roger Federer completed his semi shortly before rain set in). Murray completed an upset of Nadal on Sunday and then lost to the more rested Federer in the final on Monday.
That was the first of three straight years in which the title match had to be moved to the event's third Monday. In 2009, rain postponed Nadal's quarterfinal against Fernando Gonzalez in the second set on Thursday night, then wiped out all of Friday play. Nadal finished the Gonzalez match on Saturday but lost to Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday before del Potro beat Federer in another Monday final.
Last year, rains from Hurricane Earl on the final Sunday pushed the Nadal-Novak Djokovic final to Monday. The 2006 and 2007 Opens, though both finished as scheduled, had to dodge rain along the way: Six sessions were lost in 2006 and the qualifying tournament was barely completed on time in 2007.
Based on the Open's inclement weather policy, all ticket holders for Tuesday's two sessions can exchange tickets for a comparable session in next year's tournament at a comparable price. Details are available on usopen.org.
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