Nobody in tennis is better than Andy Murray at playing a patient game, but the 21-year-old Scot was made to endure the most agonising wait of his life last night. Playing the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career, Murray was leading Rafael Nadal, the world No 1, 6-2 7-62-3 here at the US Open when the tropical storm that had been threatening to bring a premature end to proceedings finally arrived at Flushing Meadows.

Nobody in tennis is better than Andy Murray at playing a patient game, but the 21-year-old Scot had to endure the most agonising wait of his life last night. Playing the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career, he was leading Rafael Nadal, the world No 1, 6-2 7-6 2-3 here at the US Open when the tropical storm that had been threatening to bring a premature end to proceedings finally arrived.

Andy Murray is in heaven. Forget the fact that today, weather permitting, he will play his first Grand Slam semi-final, against Rafael Nadal here at the US Open. The Scot is in his favourite city, has breakfast every morning at Starbucks and can spend his spare afternoons shopping with his girlfriend or playing mini-Olympics with his coaching team at the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex on the waterfront. Best of all, a new season of the American comedy series Entourage, his favourite television programme, opens tomorrow night. Indeed if the weather forecast proves correct – a tropical storm was due to hit the city overnight and drench it for the next 24 hours – he could spend most of the weekend watching American TV.

Jelena Jankovic must have wondered whether she would ever reach a Grand Slam final but the 23-year-old Serb finally achieved her goal here last night. Putting aside the memory of four semi-final defeats, Jankovic beat Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final of the US Open. She will play Serena Williams, who beat Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2 in the other semi-final.

It has been a glorious fortnight here at the US Open, with blue skies almost every day and barely a drop of rain, but all that is set to change today. The remnants of the tropical storm Hanna were due to hit the New York area last night and heavy downpours are expected today.

Barely a day goes by here without a Murray playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Yesterday it was the turn of Jamie and his partner, Liezel Huber, but they were unable to follow Andy’s example from the previous day and lost their mixed doubles final to Zimbabwe’s Cara Black and India’s Leander Paes 7-6, 6-4.

Twelve months ago Novak Djokovic was the darling of Arthur Ashe Stadium, delighting fans with his post-match impersonations of other players. In today’s semi-final against Roger Federer he will be the bogeyman, having left the arena on Thursday night to prolonged booing following his 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory over Andy Roddick.

He is through to the last four of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career but Andy Murray is in no mood to celebrate yet. “The tournament is still going,” the British No 1 said here in the wake of his US Open quarter-final victory over Juan Martin del Potro. “I said at the start of the tournament that I want to try to win it. I don’t want to lose in the semi-finals.

Matches between the Williams sisters never used to live up to expectations, but for the third time this year they produced a contest to remember. Serena twice came from behind to beat Venus 7-6, 7-6 in their US Open quarter-final here on Wednesday night, but the more significant factor was her sister’s failure to take her chances.

Stung by dropping the first set to an unseeded opponent, Rafael Nadal swept imperiously through the next three to beat Mardy Fish in the early hours of the morning yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the US Open for the first time.