Friday, September 11, 2009

Rain Leaves Rafa and Gonzo in Question; Woman's Semifinals Off


Things are getting very dicey at the U.S. Open, as rain has further delayed the Nadal-Gonzalez quarterfinal match, which is still awaiting a conclusion to a tense 2nd set tie-breaker. Both woman's semifinals have just been cancelled for the day.

The rains have been relentless, putting super Saturday in jeopardy, along with the Saturday prime-time woman's final, and the Sunday Men's final. If no matches are played today, the most likely scenario is that everything will have to be moved back one day to accommodate the players.

The news can't be music to Rafa's ears. After battling back from knee tendinitis, Nadal has been hindered by an abdominal strain in the last few matches that he first developed in Cincinnati. The daunting prospect of playing on three consecutive days will undoubtedly put Nadal at a disadvantage even if he does finish off in-form Chilean Fernando Gonzalez today.

Rafa is currently hanging in the players lounge, trying to make the best of a miserable situation for the worlds No. 3 player.

A three-set victory as soon as possible would probably be the best case scenario for Nadal, but considering the way Gonzo has been battling Rafa thus far, and the unpredictable results that will inevitably result from starting play in the midst of a tense tie-breaker (led by Nadal, 3-2), it's impossible predict what kind of workload Nadal and Gonzalez can expect to endure whenever they do resume play.

Meanwhile the other three semifinalists (Federer, Djokovic, and Del Potro) can order room service and cue up a movie. Lucky them.

When mother nature outplays the world best players at the U.S. Open, someone always gets the short end of the stick.

Today, in addition to the players who are forced to endure the misery of trying to prepare for a match that they are not sure when or even if they are going to play, the fans suffer too - many are still hanging around the grounds of the USTA National Tennis Center in the hopes that they will get to watch at least one third of what they came to see today.

Insert your argument for a retractable roof here.

After that, stay tuned.

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