Rain holds up Murray charge for first final

IT TOOK Hurricane Hanna and the utter incompetence of the USTA to prevent Andy Murray from reaching the US Open final yesterday. As Scotland's finest moved ever closer to his first grand slam final and his first victory over Rafael Nadal, the rain that had been forecast for days moved in on Flushing Meadows and stopped Murray in his tracks as he led 6-2, 7-6, 2-3.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer had already booked his ticket to the final having beaten Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. His match had started on the main show court at 11am, giving him an extra 90 minutes of playing time before the rain. Murray and Nadal were left hanging around, unsure when they would start their match and where. Eventually they got under way at 12.37 and were in a race against the elements to finish their match. And not even the world's No.1 and No.4 can beat nature.

Murray had to try to get a good night's sleep and not let himself think he is on the verge on achieving his lifetime goal. When Tim Henman faced the same dilemma in 2001, taking three rain sodden days to play Goran Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon semi final, the tension finally got the better of him. Murray, hopefully, is made of sterner stuff.

Nadal was fuming as yesterday unfolded. He is the best player in the world and the top seed and yet his match was shifted out on to the Armstrong court and fitted in as and when television saw fit. By rights, he ought to have taken centre stage on the main show court and the schedule should have been arranged around him. The top half of the draw had played their quarter finals first so, in theory, they should have played their semi-finals first, too.

In America, though, the great god television rules everything. With no local hero to fill the screens, CBS wanted Roger Federer, the champion of the past four years, to take top billing.

They were called to the empty court while all the attention was focused elsewhere. Word soon spread that there was more tennis to be seen and before long the 10,000 seater stadium was about half full and with the seats allocated on a first come, first served basis, everyone huddled around the courtside and the atmosphere soon built.

Murray was doing his bit to swell the numbers. His mother, Judy, had flown in at the end of last week, his grandfather – Judy's father – had come too, his grandmother's best friend had flown in from California, Murray's father, Willie, arrived for yesterday's match and his media adviser had come along to help. Added to the usual crowd of coaches, fitness trainers, physiotherapist and agent, there was scarcely a spare seat left in the players' box.

For Murray, the whole experience was novel. He did not know what it felt like to be in a grand slam semi-final, so playing it at a strange hour on a strange court did not seem unusual. For Nadal, the man who has taken the tour by storm this year and is more accustomed to reaching the penultimate round of a major tournament, this was no way to treat the world's best player.

The extra day of rest between the quarter final and yesterday had also worked Murray's favour. Where he enjoyed the chance to recharge his batteries after a four-hour marathon against Juan Martin Del Potro, a further 24 hours off just about finished off Nadal.

He was exhausted before the tournament started but had kept himself going on memory and willpower. Allowed to relax on Thursday before getting back to the practice courts in earnest on Friday, the adrenaline levels dropped and he suddenly felt the effects of the past six months of effort.

It had earned him the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic titles and let him depose Federer at the top of the rankings, but it had left him with no reserves. The tank was empty of gas and Nadal was running on fumes. Another day of play today might just finish him off.

Murray was not helping Nadal's cause either. Varying the pace, he gave the Spaniard no rhythm and never let him get into his stride. Nothing was going to be easy or conventional as the Scot mixed thumping forehands with gentle placement, baseline rallies with advances to the net.

Before the match, Murray had pinpointed his service return as a key element in overturning Nadal. If he could get his foot in the door with a couple of crackers, he might be able to force his way in. But breaking serve would be worthless if Murray could not keep his own serve safe and sound.

Earlier in the tournament, his first serve percentages had not been impressive but against Nadal he kept his figures up in the high 60s and started racking up the aces.

There was always the suspicion that if the Scot took his eye off Nadal for a moment, the World No.1 would find a way to fight back. But Murray did not let up for a moment as he claimed the first two sets 6-2, 7-6.

Only at the start of the third set did the wheels start to come off. Just as he had against Del Potro, Murray began to get edgy – he was on the verge of beating the best player in the world, one from whom he had been unable to take a set in 18 months, and he was on the brink of reaching his first grand slam final. That was enough to cost him his serve at the start of the third set and let the Spaniard get his nose in front.

And then, just as he started to regroup and serve his way out of any further danger, Hanna made her entrance. After 121 minutes of play, everything stopped. They sat and watched the first spots of moisture land and then after another five minutes – just long enough for someone to check the radar pictures – they were sent back to the locker room, not to be seen again until today.

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