By Liza Horan

When rain covers the one patch of the East Coast that has millions of dollars riding on dry weather—the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—spirits drop. From the U.S. Open competitors, the tournament staff, the broadcast partners, the media to the spectators, everyone's patience gets tried.

When several matches get washed out, as has been the case since Thursday night, the matter moves from an inconvenience of time to a financial strain as changes to flights and accommodations become necessary, tickets become unused, and TV commercials don't get run. Perhaps the biggest cost is running a Grand Slam tournament for one more day.

There is a bright side: The U.S. Open is poised to draw greater exposure now that the women's semifinals and the women's final will be broadcast in primetime on Saturday and Sunday nights.

In fact, the 9 p.m. slot on Sunday night, when the women's final is set to be shown, is the most-watched period on television.

Is Mother Nature to be thanked?

"From the standpoint of promoting our sport, yes, this is a coup," U.S. Open Tournament Director Jim Curley told me at a press conference in which he and USTA Executive Director Gordon Smith discussed the match schedule and the possibility of building a roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Holding the men's singles championship on Monday has made it necessary—and possible—to schedule the women's matches this way. The inconvenience for the USTA is the cost, but the upside is the exposure. The USTA is quick to credit its partnerships with CBS and ESPN as transforming a potential loss of major air time (and the ad revenue that goes with it) to an unanticipated good ending.

"Certainly none of us want to finishe the U.S. Open on Monday. It's unfortunate for everyone involved, but our goal is bigger than that," Curley said. "Our goal is to try to grow the sports—that's the mission of the USTA. Is (a Monday final) more expensive for us? Yes it is, but it's the right thing to do."