Rafael Nadal was livid with the tournament referee at being sent on for his US Open fourth round match against Gilles Muller while it was still raining.
There was still light drizzle in the air as Nadal and Muller were sent on to start their last sixteen clash before heavier rain forced them off after barely 20 minutes of action. Nadal blatantly did not want to be out there in the slippy conditions and some sharp form early on from Muller did not help his mood as the Luxembourg player shot off to a 3-0 lead. "Grand Slams is about a lot of money. We're part of the show. They're just working for that, not for us. They know it's still raining and call us onto the court. That's not possible," Nadal ranted.
"I understand the fans want to see tennis but the health of the players is the most important and we do not feel protected. We want to feel good when we are playing a tournament and we cannot accept these things. We have to fight to change things, to have enough power that we don't have to go on court when it's raining. If I have to go on court, I'll go on court, but I don't think it's fair."
Nadal, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick immediately headed to the tournament office once play was suspended to voice their concerns.
The poor weather and generally bizarre scheduling in New York has led to a huge backlog of matches with play set to continue into next week.
Do not count on this being the last drama concerning the tournament's decisions before the 2011 US Open ends.