The U.S. Open men's final has been “pushed an extra day, to Monday, the past four years,” and the USTA said that soon it “will become a permanent arrangement, possibly as early as this year,” according to Greg Garber of ESPN.com. USTA Dir of Corporate Communications Chris Widmaier on Thursday said, "We're in ongoing discussions regarding the schedule to ensure there's a day of rest for the men and women between the semifinals and finals. It's not clear if it will happen for 2012, but we expect it will by at least 2013." The U.S. Open is “susceptible to rain -- and, ultimately, criticism of a too-dense schedule -- because, unlike the Australian Open and Wimbledon, it does not have a roof over its largest court.” CBS, which has the rights to broadcast matches on the final Saturday and Sunday, would “likely lobby for the status quo.” Widmaier: "We need to reach an agreement with a number of different constituents. Our domestic and international television partners, our fan base, as well as certain sponsor commitments we have to work through.” Garber wrote American sports fans are “conditioned, through decades of ‘Monday Night Football,’ to watch sports the day after the weekend.” The Daytona 500 this year was moved from Sunday to Monday and “produced terrific television ratings.” Last year's Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal men's final began at 4:00pm ET and “avoided a conflict” with two “MNF” games. The Roger Federer-Djokovic final in ’07, the last time a men’s final was on Sunday, posted “a 5.36 rating -- more than double any of the four subsequent Monday finals” (ESPN.com, 3/1).
