Players fume amid chaos at US Open

Andy MURRAY found his path to the US Open title eased somewhat when organisers decided to extend the tournament through to Monday for the fourth successive year but he still faces a major battle, starting with a quarter-final clash against John Isner today.

Murray beat Donald Young in straight sets yesterday and it has been an extraordinary couple of days at Flushing Meadows, where the issue of player power has taken centre stage.

On Wednesday, Rafael Nadal, Murray and Andy Roddick confronted tournament referee Brian Earley about the decision to send them out on court in damp conditions, while Earley was also at the centre of attention yesterday. This time water seeping through the court on Louis Armstrong Stadium was the problem, with TV capturing an angry Roddick berating Earley and then pushing through a move to Court 13 to complete his win over David Ferrer. Amid all the various player complaints, the issue of the scheduling at the US Open, the only grand slam to hold the men’s semi-finals and final on consecutive days, has been to the fore.

Two days of rain left the eventual finalist in the bottom half of the draw facing four matches in four days before the organisers agreed to give them their wish.

The men’s and women’s semi-finals will now both be played tomorrow, with the women’s final on Sunday at 4pm (9pm BST) and the men’s final at the same time the following day.