Backlog piles up as rain halts play again

Play at the US Open was halted after just 10 minutes today when rain, which had delayed the start by almost three hours, returned…

Play at the US Open was halted after just 10 minutes today when rain, which had delayed the start by almost three hours, returned.

Women's top seed Kim Clijsters and French fifth seed Amelie Mauresmo left centre court at 6pm Irish time with the Belgian leading 3-0.

The referee's office faces an increasing backlog of matches and a scheduling headache after only three singles matches - two in the women's draw and one in the men's - were completed over the last two days.

Organisers have scheduled 106 matches for today although meteorologists predict another day of rain. Men's fourth round matches must be finished by Thursday to avoid the tournament spilling over into a third week, otherwise players could be forced to play twice in a day.

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The two remaining women's fourth round matches - Anastasia Myskina-Mary Pierce and Ai Sugiyama-Francesca Schiavone - should be finished to allow a Saturday final in that draw.