NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovic wont mind if it rains for the next two weeks in New York.The U.S. Opens Arthur Ashe Stadium is now covered by a retractable roof. And based on his experiences at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, which already have one, the 12-time major champ expects more humid conditions once the panels slide shut -- which make for a slower court.It allows returners like myself to get into the rally rather than seeing missiles pass by from the serves, Djokovic said Friday.He added with a chuckle: I wouldnt complain, honestly, to play an indoor U.S. Open throughout the whole two weeks.The worlds top-ranked player insisted he wont wake up every morning praying for rain, and his stellar return game certainly doesnt need much help. Roger Federer, sidelined by a knee injury, also predicted this week that the roof will aid Djokovic. The Serb begins the defense of his U.S. Open title Monday night on Ashe, where hell likely play all his matches.The approximately $150 million project to construct a roof over Ashe features an air management system and sliding shutters that seal the stadium, designed to try to minimize the humidity Djokovic so enjoys.U.S. Tennis Association officials say tests have shown little difference in the conditions open or closed, but the proof will come once matches are first held under the roof.When that will be is for Mother Nature to determine. Wimbledon champ Andy Murray -- who has played in two Monday U.S. Open finals because of weather delays -- couldnt help but quip: Ill bet it doesnt rain this year.Indeed, the extended forecast as of Sunday showed little chance of rain for the tournaments first week, though of course that can quickly change.The U.S. Open has two meteorologists on site at all times who use proprietary software to track the likelihood of storms. Theyre located next door to the scheduling room for quick communication.On some occasions when inclement weather is possible, the shutters around the stadiums upper bowl will start to close and the air management system will be activated to be ready in case the roof needs to be shut. The tournament referee makes the final call.It takes about seven minutes for the roof to close, and if the court is dry, tournament director David Brewer said, the overall delay wont be much longer than that. The players wont leave the court during the process.If it starts raining before the roof is closed, the interruption will be longer to dry the court, though Brewer hopes to avoid that scenario as much as possible.Frankly because we have so many people there and because so many people have asked for a roof for so long, I think were going to be pre-emptive in our moves to stay ahead of the weather a little bit, he said.For the most part, if the roof closes during a match, it will remain shut until the end. It could then be reopened for a subsequent match.The roof will never be partially closed to provide shade, and it will be shut only for rain, not for extreme heat. The structure supporting the roof does already provide more shade than before.During the U.S. Opens first week, rain would still wreak havoc with the schedule because no other courts are covered. Additional matches could be moved onto Ashe if need be. Brewer would prefer not to shift an in-progress match from another stadium onto Ashe, but situations may arise when thats unavoidable.Even if it never rains, the roof is guaranteed to be closed at least once in the next two weeks. It will be shut at the start of Phil Collins opening ceremony concert Monday night, then slide open during the performance. Cheap Discount Shoes Online . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. http://www.cheapshoesfastshipping.com/ . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Discount Shoes Online Free Shipping . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Wholesale Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. RIO DE JANEIRO -- In the last three Olympics it was a semifinal matchup, the penultimate step on the winners climb to the gold-medal podium.Now the U.S. mens basketball team meets Argentina in the quarterfinals, and the stakes couldnt be clearer.The Americans win, or suffer their greatest Olympic failure ever.The Argentines win, or say goodbye to their Golden Generation.Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola did the punching when the U.S. was knocked down to its lowest point 12 years ago, and the Americans, whove handled them every time since, expect their proud opponents to have one last good fight in them.Guys like that, theyve been together and so well-coached and theyve helped international basketball take giant steps forward, and we know thats what were playing on Wednesday, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Its the third game of quarterfinal Wednesday, which opens with Australia playing Lithuania. Rivals France and Spain play next -- with the winner getting the U.S.-Argentina winner -- and Croatia faces Serbia in the nightcap.Any of those teams should believe in its chances after the Americans were challenged like never before under Krzyzewski in the preliminary round, winning their last three games by 10, three and three points.Its a far cry from last month, when the U.S. beat Argentina 111-74 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas, back when even rival teams seemed to be conceding gold to the Americans.Nobody is doing that now.When we played them a month ago, I said what I thought it was. We werent there, we couldnt compete, Scola said. A month went by, I dont know, maybe they didnt play that well this month, they got a little comfortable and play a little worse. Maybe we got better this month and the difference is much smaller. Maybe.Its just one game, anything can happen. But we dont think its going to be easy.Nor do the Americans, still thinking of what Argentina used to be, instead of the team it is now.Ginobili is 39 and Scola 36, almost certainly playing in their last Olympics, and the aging Argentines looked out of gas Monday when they were blown out by Spain, two days after needing two overtimes to outlast Brazil 111-107. They lack size to match the Americans tandem of DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan -- the 6-foot-8 Scola often has to play centerr -- and at times in the exhibition rout it appeared the U.ddddddddddddS. could keep grabbing offensive rebounds until it finally scored.But inside Carioca Arena 1, which has been filled with so much light blue and white during Argentinas games that it resembles clouds in the sky, the Americans believe their undersized opponents will stand tall.They match up with anybody in that they will put their heart, their soul and their bodies out on the court against you, and anybody that does that has a chance to win, Krzyzewski said. And Ive never seen an Argentina team go on the court not thinking that they could win and we expect that from them.The U.S. teams that won gold in 2008 and 2012 overpowered Argentina in the semifinals, but those teams were loaded with All-NBA players. This is just an NBA team, not an All-NBA one, not after players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook stayed home.Thats left these Americans looking more like 2004, when they scrambled to put together an unprepared team that didnt have much of a talent advantage on its opponents. The U.S. was beaten 89-81 in the semis by Argentina, which then beat Italy for the championship, earning its Golden Generation nickname.Carmelo Anthony, in his fourth Olympics, remembers watching part of the gold-medal game with the Americans, who had to hang around to collect their bronze medals.It was just hard to watch, he said. That was a moment where we expected to kind of be at. We werent there. We werent the champions of the world at that point in time.That third-place finish matched the Americans worst at the Olympics, one of only three times in their 17 appearances they didnt win gold.Lose Wednesday, and they watch Argentina celebrate again -- and this time leave an Olympics empty-handed for the first time.They can shoot and theyre playing with confidence. But at the end of the day, its about us, U.S. forward Kevin Durant said. I understand were playing against Argentina and we respect them, but its about how we come out.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '