Tennis: Andre Agassi got an extra day's rest at the US Open as both the day and night sessions were cancelled due to bad weather last night.
Barely 36 hours after outlasting eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis in a five-set thriller, the 36-year-old Agassi was scheduled to be the main attraction yesterday.
But with heavy rains from tropical storm Ernesto delaying the start of the action several hours, the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium was cancelled, postponing Agassi's third-round match against German qualifier Benjamin Becker until 4pm Irish time this afternoon.
Britain's Andy Murray also returns to action today, the 17th seed taking on number 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez in the third match on Grandstand Court.
One of the measures to make up for the lost day's play will be a special Sunday night session at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"The outlook looks good for the rest of the weekend and I'm sure we'll turn a soggy Saturday into a super Sunday," said the United States Tennis Association's chief executive of professional tennis, Arlen Kantarian.
The wait will give Agassi even more time to recover from his second marathon match of the tournament. After going three-and-a-half hours against Romania's Andrei Pavel on Monday, Agassi needed nearly four hours to shake off Baghdatis 6-4 6-4 3-6 5-7 7-5.
Following both his matches, Agassi has taken cortisone injections for his ailing back, which is among the reasons he is retiring after the Open. Should Agassi win today, the two-time champion would have to play again tomorrow, tournament director Jim Curley confirmed.
Also pushed back a day were the first two scheduled matches at Ashe - women's third-seed Maria Sharapova against 32nd-seeded fellow Russian Elena Likhovtseva and men's ninth seed and 2003 champion Andy Roddick vs number 22 Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
The Roddick-Verdasco winner will face Agassi or Becker in the fourth round.