Sports

Djokovic rolls, but upset at lack of Open tarps

Novak Djokovic had to wait an extra day before advancing to the quarterfinals after rain suspended his match Tuesday, and he wasn’t at all happy about that. After the 2011 U.S. Open champion steamrolled through another match in straight sets over Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 Wednesday, he ripped the tournament for not having tarps to cover the hard courts during the delays.

“I don’t understand why a single hardcourt event doesn’t think of covering the court,” Djokovic said. “It obviously saves at least 30 minutes if they inflate [a cover] like they do at Wimbledon and just get the water down.

“I was asking questions in the last couple of years, ‘Why didn’t you come up with this?’ Really no answer, but they are just saying, ‘It’s a good idea.’ So it is the most logical thing you can think of. I really hope they will reconsider in this event to put at least the covers [on] if the roof is no option.”

When he brought up the question earlier in the year, the response was that the humidity could become an issue, and covers could damage the courts and are not good for the surface. The U.S. Open currently uses machines to dry moisture off the court, followed by a fanning system, which is a lengthy process.

“The USTA conducted many different tests on different methods of court drying to identify the fastest method to dry courts at the US Open. The system we currently have in place is the fastest method, including methods using tarps. The most intriguing suggestion we received, but did not test, was to rip up all the courts, embed microwave coils in the asphalt underneath the courts, resurface the courts and then flip a switch to bake out the moisture. Intriguing, but not pragmatic,” a USTA spokesperson told The Post.

Djokovic was up in the first set 2-0 before rain suspended his match on Tuesday, forcing he and Wawrinka to resume yesterday at Louis Armstrong Stadium in front of a mostly sparse stadium that got to the third set before Wawrinka withdrew. As frustrated as he was with the rain, he said it didn’t take away from the luster of the tournament.

“This is still a Grand Slam, still the U.S. Open. It doesn’t change my opinion about this tournament, I still love playing here,” Djokovic said.

***

Rain has pushed the men’s final back to Monday in each of the past four years, including last year when Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal to win his first U.S. Open.

Sara Errani became the first Italian woman ever to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Open and will face Serena Williams or Ana Ivanovic after defeating her friend, countrywoman and doubles teammate, Roberta Vinci, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The two, who were wearing identical outfits, won the doubles title at the French Open this year, and are in the semifinals here.

david.satriano@nypost.com