NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal stepped out of the players’ cafeteria at the U.S. Open a little before 1 p.m. MDT on Friday and pressed his face against a window, cupping his hands around his eyes as he scanned the soaked tournament grounds.
Yep, it was still pouring.
And he, like everyone else, was still waiting.
Rain threw the U.S. Open into disarray for the second consecutive year, meaning both singles finals will be pushed back again, and the tournament will end Monday at the earliest.
A mix of showers and mist forced postponement of all of Friday’s three scheduled singles matches. That included six-time major champion Nadal’s quarterfinal against No. 11-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, a match suspended Thursday night because of showers after Nadal won the first set in a tiebreaker and led 3-2 in the second-set tiebreaker.
Also delayed were the two women’s semifinals, one between defending champion Serena Williams and 2005 champion Kim Clijsters, the other between two 19-year-olds never before this far at a Grand Slam tournament, Caroline Wozniacki and Yanina Wickmayer.
“They canceled my match for today! U all have to wait until tomorrow!! (I have to wait too) I love u all for sticking around to watch!! Xxx S,” Williams wrote on her Twitter feed.
Those three matches were all rescheduled for today, when the forecast again calls for rain. Today’s new schedule was set to have Nadal-Gonzalez begin at 10 a.m., followed by Wozniacki-Wickmayer, with Williams-Clijsters slated to start after 6 p.m.
At a glance
A brief look at Friday:
Weather: Light but persistent rain throughout the day postponed all matches. Cool and windy. High of 67.
Stat of the day: All 27 matches scheduled for Friday were set back by the weather.
TV: KCNC-4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and 6-8 p.m.
