New York, August 30 :

Amelie Mauresmo wiped raindrops from her face and Lleyton Hewitt nearly skidded as bad weather played havoc with the US Open on a stop-and-go Wednesday. All 64 matches were pushed back to Thursday.

Only nine matches started, and that was after a 3 and half hour rain delay. None of them came close to completion. The top-seeded Mauresmo won her opening set against Germany’s Kristina Barrois 6-1, but was trailing 2-5 in the second when play was halted for a second time. About five hours later, organizers gave up on them resuming on Wednesday.

“It can be tough when you’re waiting around all day,” said 13th-seeded Mary Pierce, who was supposed to play Elena Vesnina of Russia. Only a few thousand fans were in Arthur Ashe Stadium when Mauresmo match began her match. Those sitting in the upper deck were allowed to move down to the lower, pricey seats.

Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion, and Albert Montanes were tied at 5 in

the first set when it was suspended. That came right after Hewitt’s right foot slid on the slippery baseline and he almost went into a split.

Other players who managed to get on court included 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, French Gael Monfils and Chinese star Li Na. The last time an entire session was called off at the Open was 2004.