Into every handicapper’s life, a little rain must fall.

Tennis fans were left hanging on Thursday night when the skies opened up over Flushing Meadows, forcing the postponement of Rafael Nadal’s quarterfinal matchup against Fernando Gonzalez at the 2009 U.S. Open. Nadal was up 7-6, 6-6 (3-2) in a closely fought contest. The postponement is good news for Nadal; in addition to his ongoing knee issues, the No. 3 seed has an injured stomach muscle that needed attention during the first set. The rain is expected to continue on Friday.

The delay in proceedings only adds to the dramatic tension. Nadal was a -500 favorite in this match against Gonzalez (+330), the No. 11 seed at the U.S. Open and the silver medal winner at the Beijing Olympics. This was a value situation for Gonzalez simply because Nadal’s reputation (recent World