Andy Murray has to wait an extra night to see if he can complete a stunning upset of world number one Rafael Nadal and reach the US Open finals against four-time defending champion Roger Federer.
Murray surged to a 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 2-3 lead over the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion in a Saturday semi-final, with Nadal up a break in the crucial third set when rain from Tropical Storm Hanna sent them off the court.
Murray could become only the third British man to reach a Slam final, after Greg Rusedski in the 1997 US Open and John Lloyd at the 1977 Australian Open, and the first to win a Slam crown if he could topple Federer in the final.
Nadal is trying to become only the second Spaniard in the 40-year Open era to win the US title, the first being Manuel Orantes in 1975 when the event was played on clay.
Nadal, who has won 19 Grand Slam matches in a row, is trying to join Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rod Laver as the only men to win three Slams in a row in the 40-year Open era.
Murray won the first set in 34 minutes, firing 13 winners to only four by Nadal, and forced Nadal to save three break points in the third game of the second set and two more in the fifth game before fighting to the tie-breaker.
A service winner gave Murray a 6-5 edge in the tie-break and the 21-year-old Scotsman claimed the set when Nadal sent a cross-court backhand wide, pumping his fists and yelling, ‘Come on,’ as he seized command of the match.
The joy was short lived. Nadal, in his first US Open semi-final, broke Murray to open the third set and was about to serve when the rains came.
Tournament officials moved the match to Louis Armstrong Stadium from Arthur Ashe Stadium in hopes of outracing the raindrops, but did not start it until 40 minutes after noon.
Spectators were told the Murray-Nadal match would resume at Ashe stadium on Sunday at 4pm but organizers would only say it would be resumed Sunday.
Tournament officials also would not confirm that the men's final would be played Monday, the first time since 1987 that the US Open would need an extra day to finish play.
Whenever he takes the court, Federer will face a foe who has an edge in their head-to-head rivalry.
Murray leads Federer 2-1 after a victory at Dubai in March while Nadal owns a 12-6 edge on Federer, including a blowout win in the French Open final and an epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (8/10), 9-7 triumph in the Wimbledon final.
Federer admitted that he would rather resume his rivalry with Nadal, 22, rather than see newcomer Murray across the net from him for the trophy.
‘Who do I prefer? I prefer the trophy. That's what I prefer,’ Federer joked. ‘I guess I prefer Rafa because we have played so many times and we had such a great Wimbledon final,’ Federer said.
‘After what we went through at Wimbledon and all the tough matches we have had over the years, it's just always nice to play against him, even though I have a losing record against him.’
Still, Federer offered high praise to Murray, who will rise to fourth in the next ATP rankings, matching the highest mark any British man has reached.
‘I would like to play Andy as well but obviously he hasn't been as good as Rafa for the past years. I'm sure he will be at the top of the game for a long time. I've always thought Andy has incredible talent. He's a great player.
‘I won't be surprised if Andy beats Rafa but I just think the meaning would be more to play against Rafa here at the Open,’ Federer said.
