Play at the US Open is stopped by rain, even with the stadium roof being CLOSED, as New York is hit by remnants of Hurricane Ida and fans are left stranded subway closures
- Play was temporarily stopped for rain at US Open despite the roof being closed
- Rain was blowing in sideways into the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday
- Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson saw their match brought to a halt
- New York, where the US Open is held, battled Hurricane Ida on Wednesday
There were bizarre scenes at the US Open when a night match had to be suspended due to torrential rain – despite it being played under a roof.
New York, which was dealing with Hurricane Ida on Wednesday night, was continuing competition in the second round of the US Open indoors.
Hurricane Ida smashed in to the northeastern area on Wednesday, sparking flash flooding in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leaving 280,000 people without power.
More than 60 million people throughout the northeast have been placed under flash flood watches while Ida – now a tropical depression – moves its way into the area.
At the US Open even a roof could not keep out the torrential rain on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court as play between South African Kevin Anderson and Diego Schwartzman was abandoned with the court soaked.
Video footage captured inside the stadium on Wednesday showed strong winds blowing rain into the show court sideways through openings in the roof.
Those fans in attendance for the night session looked to take shelter under umbrellas and coats but the freak conditions left the court unplayable for both players.
It was decided that the match would be temporarily suspended for 35 minutes while the surface had chance to dry out.
Rain halted play at the US Open despite the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof being closed
Fans inside the stadium for the night session on Wednesday had to seek shelter from the rain
Strong winds blew rain into the stadium through openings found in the retractable roof
A brief restart allowed Schwartzman to win the first set on a tie-break but the court soon became unplayable again with more rain creeping through gaps in the retractable roof forcing a second postponement.
There was concern for Schwartzman when he slipped during the tiebreak in the first set.
Fans watched on as he called for the chair umpire, Nacho Forcadell, who inspected the court.
The Louis Armstrong Stadium court was hastily wiped down with towels and play resumed almost 10 minutes, but officials were unimpressed with the court’s improvement.
Play resumed at 11.45pm local time over on a totally different court with officials unable to dry out the Louis Armstrong Stadium court.
It was then announced the match would resume on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court following the match-up between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Adrian Mannarino.
Diego Schwartzman spoke to the chair umpire when he slipped during the opening set
US Open officials and some of the volunteers attempted to dry the court out by using towels
The two players continued on the Arthur Ashe main show court and Argentinian ace Schwartzman won 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Angelique Kerber’s clash with Anhelina Kalinina, due on afterwards, had to be pushed back until Thursday due to the tournament congestion caused by the reshuffles.
While it was unique to see a match on the stadium show courts affected given their ability to play under a roof, earlier on Wednesday more than two dozen doubles matches had to be postponed due to the rain.
New York, where the tournament is held, was put on a tornado watch given the conditions
QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY: Emergency rescue are seen in waist-high water as they rescue a woman from her car
A flash flood emergency for the New York region was issued by the National Weather Service and surrounding areas, with parts of the plaza at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center flooded.
The ‘Emergency’ warning is the highest level of flood alert – indicating immediate and significant threats to life and property.
Nearly all of the New York City subway lines were suspended and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) service between Flushing, Queens and Manhattan was suspended.
A US Tennis Association (USTA) spokesperson said tournament officials were ‘in very close communication’ with city police and transportation officials regarding the surrounding roadways, trains and subway line connecting the venue to Midtown Manhattan.