Rain returned to the US Open on Thursday to halt play after just 15 minutes at Flushing Meadows.

But the small break in the weather was just enough to allow seventh seed Anastasia Myskina to complete a 7-6 6-1 win over Mary Pierce in a match that had stretched over four days due to persistent rain delays.

The hardcourt slam had earlier burst into life when play got under way on several courts following a four-hour rain delay.

With organisers trying to clear a huge backlog of matches created by four days of persistent rain, Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and 13th seed David Nalbandian of Argentina were first on Arthur Ashe court for their fourth-round contest.

But before the crowd had time to settle into their seats, the match was halted with the second seeded Swiss leading Nalbandian 3-2.

Under clearing but still threatening skies, Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Italy's Francesca Schiavone also stepped on court in an attempt to finally finish their marathon fourth-round match which began on Monday.

Play resumed at 1456 local time (1856 GMT) with women's 15th seed Sugiyama leading 7-6 5-4.

But they were unable to finish the match as Schiavone earned a break to force a third set. Sugiyama claimed a 2-0 lead in the decider before the match was yet again suspended.

During their short stint on court, umpire Lynn Welch was struck in the head by a tennis ball after an errant throw from a ball boy.

Stunned and bleeding, Welch received treatment in the chair but said she wanted to continue.

Even as conditions improved, problems continued to mount for beleaguered organisers as the Grandstand showcourt was deemed unplayable for the first match of the day because of a problem with water seepage.

Grim conditions once again greeted players and tennis fans when they arrived at a water-logged Flushing Meadows.

Only five singles matches have been completed since Monday because of severe rain delays, forcing officials to seriously consider holding the men's final on Monday, September 8.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Sports News
+Official: No signs of major earthquakes ( 2003-09-05) +China urges US to honour its word on Tibet ( 2003-09-05) +High alert urged against influenza ( 2003-09-05) +IOC says Beijing's preparations impressive ( 2003-09-05) +Comment: Chen's "three links" plan fails to impress ( 2003-09-05)		+Crespo warns Argentina of qualifying dangers ahead ( 2003-09-05) +Ronaldo in World Cup qualifiers debut ( 2003-09-05) +Rain halts play at Flushing Meadows ( 2003-09-05) +Schumacher fastest in Monza testing ( 2003-09-05) +Nothing to worry about at Manchester United, says Barthez ( 2003-09-05)