Time for another episode of the late show at the U.S. Open.
Nadal wound up winning, ending the match at 2:10 a.m. Thursday. Most of the upper deck was empty by then, and television showed many fans asleep.
"Well, it was not usual. Not the best conditions to play a tennis match. But sometimes the schedules are tough,'' the top-seeded Nadal said. "So sometimes it's difficult. But nothing to do, no? Just accept.''
"This is one of the things that we players discuss all the time. There should be a limit on when to start. But we know that the TV rules in this,'' he said.
Nadal and Fish started at 11:30 p.m. It could've been even later had not Serena Williams beaten sister Venus in straight sets.
"It's part of the lore of this tournament, late nights at the U.S. Open,'' Arlen Kantarian, the USTA's CEO for professional tennis, said Thursday. "A couple of times a fortnight, that's OK. But you don't want it all the time.''
"There is no clock in tennis, that's part of the draw,'' he said. "For the good of the sport, would we have liked to have seen the No. 1 player in the world on the court at 9 p.m.? Sure, but that's not always possible.''
Kantarian said U.S. Open officials would look at several possibilities to turn back the clock next year. Daytime scheduling could be the focus - doubles matches can run the early session long at Ashe, pushing back the start of the night action.
That's what happened Wednesday when Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro played into the early evening, forcing the Williams sisters to wait.
"That's the real issue,'' he said.
The women generally play first at night, often beginning around 7:25 p.m., and Kantarian said perhaps the starting time could be moved up a bit. There have also been suggestions that maybe the men occasionally go first.
During the weekend, Andy Roddick finished off Ernests Gulbis in four sets at 1:30 a.m. Nadal and Fish easily passed that and approached the latest finish in the tournament's history - Mats Wilander defeated Mikael Pernfors at 2:26 a.m. in 1993.
"It's not ideal starting that late, but I was ready,'' Fish said. "I think it bothered him more than me at the start.''
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SOUND FAMILIAR?: As well as Mardy Fish fared at the U.S. Open, reaching the quarterfinals and stealing a set from No. 1 Rafael Nadal at that stage, U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe knew he was going to round up the usual crew for this month's semifinal against Spain.
Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles pair of twins Bob and Mike Bryan will comprise the U.S. team for a record-extending 11th consecutive Davis Cup contest. No other foursome has been chosen more than three times in a row to represent the country.
"I feel like this is deja vu,'' McEnroe said Thursday at the U.S. Open, where he's serving as Roddick's personal coach. "No surprise - same four guys.''
They are the players McEnroe led to the last Davis Cup championship.
Roddick is ranked eighth, one spot ahead of Blake, who lost in the second round at Flushing Meadows. Fish is ranked 35th.
"At this point, I still thoroughly believe that Roddick and Blake give us the best chance. I mean, obviously the fact that they have experience is part of that,'' McEnroe said. "But, you know, not only in Davis Cup, but, you know, in big matches overall.''
Spain has until next week to announce its roster, which is expected to be led by four-time French Open champion Nadal. The matches will be played on clay at Madrid in a 21,000-seat bullring.
"We're a solid underdog,'' McEnroe said. "Going over to play Nadal on clay and the rest of the Spanish team is tough.''
Argentina hosts Russia in the other Sept. 19-21 semifinal.
The Davis Cup final will be played Nov. 21-23.
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HEADING HOME: Jamie Murray gave it a good run at this U.S. Open, reaching the final of the mixed doubles tournament before losing Thursday.
Now that he's done, he's eager to get back to Scotland, even though brother Andy could soon be playing for the men's championship.
"I've had enough time traveling. I'm ready to go home,'' Jamie Murray said.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are set to play in the semifinals. If Murray wins, he'll play for the title Sunday.
By then, Jamie Murray will be gone - he's not inclined to change his schedule. While he has watched his younger brother a bit, Jamie hasn't seen every match.
"It's quite tiring in itself'' to watch, he said.
Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Leander Paes of India won their first U.S. Open mixed doubles title by beating Murray and Liezel Huber of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4.
Paes has won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, and Black has won three - but this was the first for each at Flushing Meadows and the first for them as a team.
They were seeded fifth at the U.S. Open. Huber and Murray were unseeded.
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SERENA AND SAFINA: U.S. Open semifinalists Serena Williams and Dinara Safina clinched berths in the women's tennis tour's season-ending championships.
The top eight singles players qualify, and Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic already earned their spots. The event is Nov. 4-9 in Doha, Qatar.
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