The US Open on Friday defended the decision to stick the women's semi-final betweeen Australian Samanatha Stosur and German Angelique Kerber on the Grandstand Court - the No 3 show court at Flushing Meadows.

Ninth-seeded Australian Stosur and unseeded German Kerber are scheduled to start at 6 pm (2200 GMT) on the Grandstand, while the marquee final-four matchup of world number one Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams is slated for Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The semifinals had already been pushed back to Saturday night, when the women's final was originally scheduled, after heavy rain cost the tournament two days of play on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The delays - and complaints from players including defending champion Rafael Nadal and world number four Andy Murray about the fairness of the schedule - prompted officials to move the women's final to Sunday, with the men's final to be played on Monday - allowing the men's finalists a day off after their Saturday semis.

"Numerous factors needed to be considered for the rescheduling of the remaining four days of the 2011 US Open," a statement issued by the US Tennis Association said.

"These factors included programming for US Open ticket holders, competitive fairness for players, and the existing television windows for the tournament."

Agence France-Presse