TUYWPI: Water, water everywhere...

I'll let Rafa tell you about how the players felt going out to play on a damp hardcourt for twenty minutes:




If you've ever gone out and tried to hit in the rain and the wet, it's umpleasant. The ball gets soggy. The court smells funny and your racquet feels like a greased doorknob. If you've ever actually tried to play when the court was not properly dry, it gets frightening fast. Taking off from a stop when the court is damp feels like you could faceplant at any moment. A split-step on wet skimcoat is so scary that it makes my groin hurt just thinking about it.

Now imagine you're one of the most gifted athletes on the planet; your body is a finely tuned machine. Your muscles coil and flex and stretch within an inch of breaking every time you play. You're used to playing on lots of different surfaces that make varying demands on your body, but once adjusted to the surface you can move confidently on clay, grass, carpet, empty Serbian swimming pools. Wherever there is a net.

But now, after playing the last eight weeks on dry hard courts, the USTA and U.S. Open organizers tell you to take the court, even though it is still raining and the courts were only dried with blowers and squeegees for forty-five minutes. Personally, I would freak the F out. But then, I'm a pretty big wuss. These guys, who are the most supremely confident tennis players in the world, did not feel safe. And they were still asked to play.

Imagine what if Rafa were to blow out his knee on wet concrete? What if Roddick were to tweak his, heretofore, iron-clad shoulder because on his serve, his left foot didn't plant correctly? WHAT IF SOMEBODY DIED? Okay, so maybe that couldn't happen. But still, adding extra physical jeopardy to a sport where careers are notoriously short? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Don't do this, USTA. Don't do this ever again.

Rafa down 0-3 to Gilles Muller.
Murray and Young on serve 1-2.
Roddick up a break on Ferrer 2-1, serving.

Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow.