You figured the Saturday rain which cut down the Andy Murray-Rafael Nadal semifinal in the third set would befit the Spaniard #1 just fine. Nadal looked exhausted on Saturday, as he has in every match since winning his Beijing gold. A night's rest didn't fix it: Murray remained the aggressor on Sunday, and ended up pulling through with two breaks in the clinching fourth set.

For a set and a half of tennis, it was thrilling stuff. One game saw Murray squander seven break points before Nadal finished him. In the fourth set, Nadal went up an early break and looked to be on his way to sending us to five. But Murray battled back and asserted dominance ... something we haven't seen against Nadal in a long time.

The final point of the match lacked real drama, but the one prior -- Nadal serving at deuce, down 4-5 -- was epic. Murray played Nadal all over the court, sending the Spaniard sliding around Arthur Ashe Court. Murray ended up coming to the net and dispatching Nadal with a simple crosscourt carom.

Roger Federer will be an overwhelming favorite on Monday with the Open on the line, but if Murray continues to play so slick and strong, it could be a fine match. (It'd be a whole lot more telegenic, of course, if Murray would shave his darn face. You'll never get a guest spot on Entourage with that mess, Andy!)

Roger Federer finished his semifinal win Saturday before Tropical Storm Hanna hit, but Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray weren't so lucky. The U.S. Tennis Association tried to plan properly -- Nadal-Murray got moved up in a seemingly last- minute decision, starting at 12:30 PM while Federer fought Novak Djokovic across the way. Of course, CBS couldn't broadcast two semifinals at the same time. So Nadal- Murray's on a tape delay of about an hour or so. (As such, no spoilers here.)

I do feel comfortable telling you the match didn't start early enough: a rain delay has stopped things during the third set. It is expected to rain in NYC for, oh, about 16 hours. So the Nadal-Murray match will conclude Sunday, pushing back the men's final. The women's final between Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic, scheduled for tonight, has been pushed to 9 PM EST Sunday. There's no official word on when the men's final will be, but Monday afternoon seems like a fair guess.

Meanwhile though, the impromptu start of Nadal's match had spectators in Flushing Meadows scrambling, reports Kathleen McElroy of the New York Times. Global warming, man: killing polar bears, confusing tennis fans. When will the carnage end?!

Novak Djokovic couldn't hang after Roger Federer broke serve in the vital third set today, and Federer goes on to face the winner of Nadal-Murray Sunday in the finals. Djokovic won a few gutsy points in the fourth set, but Federer pulled out his boom stick and dominated.

Still, Djokovic was able to bolster his role as the heel of men's tennis with a fun exchange with the crowd during a vital Federer break point. A fan shouted during Djokovic's serve, Roger won the point. Djokovic looked capable of murder. On another point, the fans cheered the tick of the two-hour mark in the match. Djokovic lost, and facetiously thanked the fans for their tact.

Following his rap battle with Andy Roddick this week, Djokovic has really placed himself as the new villain, a new school Lleyton Hewitt. But he's more compelling. He has a sarcastic, sardonic edge, showing no effort to cow to the established pecking order or etiquette. And he has a Federer-style game -- not as potent, of course, but similar.

Nadal hasn't been able to grab mainstream consciousness as a rival to Federer. Rafa comes off more like a challenger (even as the world #1) than a usurper. If Djokovic improves enough to keep challenging the top pair, he can grab the valuable mantle of Most Hated Player. He has the tools (a whiner's streak, black hair, a sharp wit). He just needs to execute.

I’ll stop short of saying that Novak Djokovic fakes injuries on the court, but let’s just say that he is fairly notorious for being quick to call out the trainer. He does it all the time; the players and fans are all well aware of the tactic. So, on Tuesday, when asked about Novak’s “injuries” Andy Roddick decided to mock Novak by having the following exchange with a reporter:

A reporter was explaining that the Serbian player had complained of an injured right ankle when Roddick cut him off, sparking this charming exchange:

Roddick: Isn't it both of them? And a back and a hip?

Reporter: And when he said there are too many to count …

Roddick: And a cramp.

Reporter: Do you get a sense right now that he is …

Roddick: Bird flu.

Reporter: A lot of things. Beijing hangover.

Roddick: Yeah.

Reporter: He's got a pretty long list of illness.

Roddick: Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold.

Apparently, Novak didn’t appreciate Roddick’s sense of humor, because after beating Andy in four sets last night, he went into this pathetic, “he doesn’t play nice” rant on center court:
Wise decision that was, Novak, to get that outta your system in front of 20,000+ Roddick fans, not to mention the television audience. Alienating Americans is gonna do wonders for your career.

If you watched Rafael Nadal’s opening round match yesterday against German qualifier Bjorn Phau, then you likely noticed nothing different. Nadal rocked his signature outfit: a sleeveless t-shirt with skin-tight man-Capri pants, rife with plenty of wedgie-picking. But all that nearly changed in the days leading up to the U.S. Open, from Wall Street Journal:

Hours before his first U.S. Open match Monday, Rafael Nadal decided that his game was more important than his wardrobe, telling his advisers and corporate sponsor Nike Inc. that he wasn't ready for an image makeover after all.

Over three days the exuberant Spanish star known as Rafa had practiced in a new wardrobe that included such radical adjustments as shirts with short sleeves and pants that stopped above the knee instead of a few inches below.

Clearly, Rafa made the right choice here and not simply because he’s on a winning streak with his current style. Nadal is a perfect caricature of what a typical American would think a European athlete would be: The clothes, the headband, the long hair, the thick accent, the perfect balance between feminine and masculine, graceful and powerful. You know, the anti-Roddick. Rafa can’t just up and change his signature Euro-fashions like that. It’s all too perfect and hilarious.

Oh, and speaking of hilarious, there was also this line in passing from the WSJ article: "In a field in which some male athletes wear women's underwear or forego shaving to preserve a winning streak, it isn't so surprising that Mr. Nadal decided not to make the change overnight ..." That couldn't possibly be referring to Rafa, right? 'Cause that would take our Euro stereotyping to heights that we may not be able to comprehend.