It may not sound fair to 9-to-5 workers, but it’s time to move the U.S. Open men’s final permanently to Monday afternoon.
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There’s a reason Novak Djokovic’s four-set win over Rafael Nadal on Monday on CBS earned an overnight rating of 2.6 and a 6 share, up 18 percent from when they faced each other in 2010, and it’s not that they’re the top two players in the world.
It’s because they weren’t competing with the NFL on Sunday.
The U.S. Open’s schedule has long been a problem, calling for two men’s semifinals on Saturday before a Sunday final, and weather delays have forced the Monday move the last four years. But by moving the final altogether, there’s no chance the biggest match of the year on American soil is swallowed up by another American sport.
A 4 p.m. Eastern start still allows the match to start in prime time in Europe, where tennis is more prominent.
It also makes for an excuse to shorten the first day of the work week, and it’s the perfect pregame activity for “Monday Night Football.”
– Craig Stouffer
