US Open 2021: Play suspended because of rain on court with roof

3 years ago 54

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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Date: 30 August-12 September
Coverage: Daily radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/BBC Sport website and app, with selected live text commentaries and match reports on the website and app

Play suspended because of rain. These are not words you would expect to hear on a court with a roof.

Yet on Louis Armstrong Stadium at the US Open, there were bizarre scenes when the water poured in and fans put up umbrellas as the storm outside found its way in.

The second-round match between Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman and South African Kevin Anderson was interrupted twice before being suspended in the first game of the second set.

"You guys call me when you're ready to play tennis," Anderson said before leaving the court.

Air-blowers had been brought on court and umpires and ball kids tried to dry the surface with towels but despite their best efforts huge gusts of wind continued to blow the rain through the sides of the roof and on to the court.

There were contrasting scenes at the same time on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Stefanos Tsitsipas and Adrian Mannarino continued to stay dry and play their match under the roof.

The order of play was updated to suggest the encounter between Schwartzman and Anderson would continue on Ashe after that match but that the other match scheduled for Louis Armstrong Stadium - Angelique Kerber against Anhelina Kalinina - would be postponed until Thursday.

The New York area is under a tornado and flooding warning and Wednesday's play at Flushing Meadows had been interrupted on the outdoor courts but few would have expected an indoor match to have been affected in this way.

There was a half-hour delay when the first set was poised at 5-5 and it was then stopped again at 4-4 in the tie-break after both players complained about the slippery surface.

They came back and Schwartzman took the set but play was then called off in the first game of the second set when Anderson was leading 30-15 on his serve.