NEW YORK- The U.S. Open men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was postponed because of rain Sunday, marking the third consecutive year that the season’s last Grand Slam tournament won’t finish on schedule.
Nadal and Djokovic were supposed to begin playing at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, but showers began more than 1 1/2 hours earlier and hadn’t stopped by 6:15 p.m., when tournament officials decided to call it a night. They rescheduled the match to start no earlier than 4 p.m. Monday.
The third-seeded Djokovic warmed up on a practice court beside Arthur Ashe Stadium as drops fell at about 3 p.m. – and he probably didn’t mind the wait until Monday. That’s because he reached the final with a grueling five-set victory over Roger Federer on Saturday, while Nadal won his earlier semifinal in straight sets.
This marks the first three-year string of delayed finishes at the tournament since the men’s and women’s singles competitions were combined and played at the same site in 1935.
For complete coverage, see Monday’s Times Free Press.