It took 36 hours, one press conference, two statements and an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, but Serena Williams finally issued a legitimate apology for her tirade in a U.S. Open semifinal match.

Yesterday Serena issued a statement through the USTA that was striking in its stubborness and lack of contrition. Today, before she and her sister Venus were to play in the womens' doubles finals, Serena released a new, real apology:

"I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible - I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA and mostly tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong. I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it's not the way to act -- win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner.

I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good

Editor's note: Former world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander is writing exclusively for Yahoo! Sports throughout the U.S. Open. The 1988 U.S. Open champ breaks down who's hot and who's not, offering his thoughts courtesy of Lacoste.

Serena Williams' outburst on Saturday night was borne out of frustration at the way she was being outplayed, but that doesn't excuse her behavior toward a line judge.

Clearly Serena felt like this was a tournament she was destined to win, and she had every reason to think that after her dominating performances up until the semifinal.

It must have been difficult for her to understand how it was that Kim Clijsters could be playing so well after taking 30 months off to have a child.

When the critical time came and Williams was riled up by the foot fault call at 5-6, 15-30, she was just about ready to explode.

I am not defending Serena, and there can be no excuses for behaving in the way that she did. It is just not acceptable to speak to

After she was levied a $10,500 fine earlier today, Serena Williams issued a statement through the USTA about her outburst in Saturday's U.S. Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters:

"Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience."

Is that supposed to be an apology? Aren't the words "I'm" and "sorry" usually necessary in such things? This is nothing but another excuse, which is no accident. If Serena was sorry, she'd have said she was sorry. Since she didn't, we can only assume she's not.

The line about saying she "handled

If you haven't yet seen Serena Williams' tirade from last night's U.S. Open semifinal, here it is in real-time:

What I wrote in the reaction post last night (and which was echoed today on ESPN by John McEnroe) still stands: The foot fault call was wrong but Serena was wronger.

Rain gave way to bedlam tonight at the U.S. Open.

Defending champion Serena Williams was charged with a point penalty on match point after yelling at a line judge for a calling a foot fault on her previous serve. The ruling gave Kim Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory in their semifinal match, which had been delayed 32 hours because of rain.

After the line judge called the foot fault with Serena serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, the youngest Williams sister intimidatingly stared her down before screaming at the official with a jabbed finger. After a few seconds, Serena turned back around to serve, thought better of it and resumed the badgering. The chair umpire then called over the line judge to ask what Serena had said, rules officials were summoned, a brief summit occurred at the net and it was determined that Serena would be assessed a point penalty for a conduct violation. The point gave Clijsters the match.

The initial foot fault that began the fireworks was a terrible call. It

The first raindrops of each U.S. Open barely have time to hit the court before the discussion begins: Should the USTA put a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium?

It's one of those questions that has become so tiresome to debate that I almost wish the USTA would do it just so we don't have to hear about it at the first sign of cloud cover. But the debate about whether the U.S. Open needs a retractable roof stadium is once again making the rounds today after a day of rain washed out Friday play.

The two womens' semifinals were postponed because of the weather but, as of 5:45 p.m. ET, the USTA is still blindly holding out of hope that Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez will be able to finish their match tonight.

Having a day of tennis cancelled is a huge nuisance for players, fans and television executives. But is it enough of a nuisance to make the USTA to spend $200 million on a retractable roof?

It looks like it is. Last year USTA Chief Executive Arlen Kantarian said of a roof, "I would say

Update x2 (4:54 p.m. ET) -- The rain continues in New York. The USTA had hoped to start at 1:30 and then 2:30 and then 3:30 and then 4:30. Officials continue to insist that there will be a window in which to play tonight, but the forecast suggests otherwise. If play does resume today, all three matches will be played at the same time on Ashe, Armstrong and Grandstand courts.

Update (1:28 p.m. ET) -- A steady rain has delayed the start of the Serena Williams-Kim Clijsters match.

It was going to be like Super Saturday, in reverse. Two great women's matches and a men's match were on the U.S. Open schedule today after rain forced the postponement of last night's quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez to this afternoon. But don't expect to see much, if any, tennis today.

The weather report for New York is good only for poncho salesman. Rain features heavily in the forecast through the afternoon, which has caused the USTA to already make contigency plans should no tennis get

First serve

No matter what Juan Martin del Potro does at the U.S. Open, he doesn't have the power to make Argentina feel too good about its sports right now, not with the national soccer team in danger of missing the World Cup.

Del Potro's impressive quarterfinal victory over Marin Cilic on Thursday, when he rallied from behind to win in four sets, was greeted more with relief than joy in his homeland – a welcome respite from the gloom surrounding the national sport.

Del Potro (pictured right) is still a symbol of hope across South America, and he's the only man from his region threatening to bust the total European stranglehold on men's tennis.

He's a different breed, a bona-fide outdoor hard-court specialist, instead of the clay dwellers normally associated with his nation. He burst onto the scene last summer, winning four straight ATP events and striding up the rankings. His progress has been steady ever since.

This represents his best chance in a major, with the Flushing Meadows