NOTEBOOK | From the U.S. Open

Raining on coverage: The weather was totally uncooperative with the television networks covering the U.S. Open on Monday. CBS went on the air at noon, planning six hours of coverage. In between rain delays, the network got in just four games of Jennifer Capriati's match against Elena Dementieva. Ten minutes after CBS went off the air, Capriati and Dementieva resumed their match. They played until 7 p.m., just when USA Network's evening coverage went on the air, before rain interrupted play again.
Schedule: Monday's rain forced a postponement of top-seeded Andre Agassi's match against Taylor Dent. The match was rescheduled for today and placed the 33-year-old Agassi in the position of having to win four matches in six days if he is to capture a ninth Grand Slam title. Pete Sampras did that last year. Agassi had been critical of the decision to stop his third-round match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov after just one set on Saturday, forcing him to complete it on Sunday and face the prospect of playing three straight days. Monday's rain allowed him to avoid that but created a potential schedule jam later in the week.
Chang to be honored: Michael Chang, who retired after his first-round loss at the U.S. Open, will be honored by the USTA tonight between matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Chang played for 16 years and was the youngest winner of a Grand Slam event when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17. Two years earlier, he was the youngest player ever to win a match at the U.S. Open. Chang won 34 career singles titles and was runner-up in three other Slams -- the 1995 French Open, the 1996 Australian Open and 1996 U.S. Open. The USTA held a similar ceremony honoring Pete Sampras on the first night of the Open.
Blake tired: Roger Federer has a fat wide headband, a little knob of a ponytail and a game as fluid as hot syrup. James Blake got a center-court glimpse of all three Sunday night. "I felt like I fought the whole time," Blake said after his U.S. Open run ended in the third round, with a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss to Federer, the second-seed. Blake, ranked No. 35, is everybody's local favorite, having been born in Yonkers and raised in Fairfield, Conn. His previous two Opens were ended by Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion and semifinalist last year. "I'm getting tired of coming to the U.S. Open and playing great tennis and getting known more for my losses than my wins," Blake said.