NOTEBOOK

Old pals: By the end of the match, after they’d traded strokes for nearly four hours and day had turned into night, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro looked like old pals. The young stars put their arms around each other at the net after Murray reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, beating del Potro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 7-5. Quite different than the scene they presented at Rome in May. Tempers flared during that match, with Murray claiming del Potro insulted his mother — Judy Murray provided vocal support for her son from the stands. Del Potro nearly hit Murray in the head with a ball in the second set. The Argentine retired while trailing 5-7, 6-4, 1-0. This time, the 21-year-old Murray and the 19-year-old del Potro kept their anger in check. Murray patted his rival on the chest when it ended, and del Potro managed a smile after his 23-match winning streak ended. “Obviously, very relieved,” Murray said. “It was a great atmosphere.”

Weather plans: With long-range forecasts calling for Tropical Storm Hanna to curve along the U.S. Atlantic coast this weekend, U.S. Open organizers began trying to figure out what to do if play is affected. The tournament’s schedule calls for Saturday to include both men’s singles semifinals in the afternoon, followed by the women’s singles title match Saturday night. The men’s singles championship match is supposed to be Sunday. With no roof on any court used during the Grand Slam tournament, rain could play havoc with the schedule.

Men’s doubles: American twins Bob and Mike Bryan earned a chance to win their second U.S. Open men’s doubles championship. The Bryans, who won the 2005 U.S. Open and are seeded second this year, beat Tommy Robredo and Sergio Roitman 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals Wednesday. In Friday’s final, the Bryans will face the seventh-seeded pairing of Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India. They eliminated Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-0.

Associated Press