Credit
Santiago Mejia/The New York Times
It was midway through an otherwise unremarkable second-round match for Rafael Nadal when the first traces of condensation began to materialize on the blue court surface around him.
In another year at the United States Open, tiny raindrops like these, as sparse as they were, would have struck terror in the minds of spectators and tournament officials alike. They would have scurried to check weather forecasts and radar screens and drafted contingency plans. Fans would clear their morning…
