Chris Widmaier, a senior public relations director for the USTA, met earlier this evening with a scrum of about 30 reporters, saying that the decision was made by the USTA and not the cable network USA. He said Williams and Jankovic both approved of the decision to play Wednesday night, which is significant since it would mean less rest for the semifinal. They were slated to play tomorrow afternoon, with Henin and Serena getting the primetime women's match.

Widmaier said, "We can't confirm if this is unprecedented." But it doesn't look great.