Intermittent rain and swirling winds wrecked havoc at last night’s U.S. Open. They troubled Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic in the first quarterfinal matchup, and they washed out the nightcap between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez, delayed twice and postponed until today.
Now the U.S Open faces a congested schedule, the possibility of the third-seeded Nadal — or No. 11 Gonzalez — having to play on four straight days to win the title, and the very real threat of today’s forecasted rains forcing them to play into Monday as well. It is, in essence, a waterlogged mess.
Play resumes at Arthur Ashe Stadium at 12:30 p.m. today with Serena Williams facing resurgent Kim Clijsters. Then Nadal takes the court (not before 2 p.m.) leading 7-6 (4), 6-6 and leading the second-set tiebreaker 3-2.
After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Nadal called for the trainer to work on his stomach and abdomen area. He’d come into the tournament with his abs taped and carrying an injury first suffered in Cincinnati. The match got delayed for 1:15 with the second set tied at 2-2, then was interrupted again with Nadal leading the second-set tiebreaker.
“In the first set, it was very, very bad,” Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, told ESPN2 during the second set. “Now, it’s a little better. It’s difficult. We must win this set.”
Truth be told, Nadal should’ve won it, with three set-points at 5-4. He had Gonzalez on the run, but when the winds blew a paper — napkin? Program? Bag? — onto the court during play, the chair umpire stopped the point. When play resumed, Gonzalez won it and eventually forced a tiebreaker.
Nadal led 3-2, and that’s where they sat delayed, waiting another 1 ½ hours before the match was eventually called around midnight. The crowd was sent home, bringing disappointed boos with the U.S. Open’s inclement weather policy not in effect.
At any rate, whenever this is settled, del Potro, who won both of his meetings with Nadal this season, will be waiting. And rested. The sixth-seeded del Potro shook off a sluggish start to rally past No. 16 Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 and into the semis.
They’d been treated as different sides of the same coin — tall big-serving 20-year-olds with booming forehands and bright futures. But the promising Argentine — sure to crack the Top 5 — turned their budding rivalry into a rout, showing steely mettle beyond his years.
“It’s like a dream. My dream is to win this tournament. I’m so close to (doing) it; but now I am focusing on the semis,” said del Potro, who saw Cilic take the first set 6-4 and lead 3-1 in the second up a break. But as the crowd got behind del Potro in his Arthur Ashe Stadium debut, the 6-foot-6 del Potro seized command of the match quickly and completely.
“It was a good comeback. The crowd cheering for me 1-3 in the second set, I started to play better after that moment. Of course I enjoy the match and I did good things; of course I need to improve for the semis a lot, but I’m happy with my match.”
He won seven straight games, and 17 of the final 20 in utterly dominating the match’s late stages. When Cilic’s volley sailed long, del Potro jumped for joy, letting out a primal roar before crossing himself and tossing his yellow Nike headband into the stands.
“When I was on the court, I tried to do my best, fighting to the last game, to the last point. If you do that, you have many chances to win many matches. That’s what I do now,” said del Potro. “This weather was very tough on both players. But I was so focused on my serve. I never missed easy balls. That was the key to the match, because Marin was playing so good.”