Storm Halts Play, Injures 4 Spectators

afternoon storm that brought rain, hail and a small tornado to Flushing Meadow resulted in injuries to four spectators and the cancellation of half of Friday’s regularly scheduled matches in the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

A hospitality tent at the National Tennis Center collapsed during the storm, injuring four people inside. One man broke his left arm, one woman suffered a head cut, one woman sprained an ankle and another woman suffered a bruised cheek.

The storm knocked down trees, fences and electrical wires while flooding the Stadium Court with six inches of water.

Ivan Lendl was leading Bill Scanlon, 6-2, 2-0, on the Stadium Court when the rains came. That match and all of the evening matches were postponed until today.

Before the deluge, No. 11-seeded Stefan Edberg advanced in the men’s division with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 decision over Ken Flach, and Brian Teacher upset 15th-seeded Scott Davis, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

In women’s second-round play, Caroline Kuhlman of Lakeside Park, Ky., and USC defeated Hungary’s Andrea Temesvari (No. 16), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; Pam Shriver (No. 4) defeated Hu Na, 6-2, 7-6; Zina Garrison (No. 6) defeated Pam Casale, 6-2, 6-4; Bulgaria’s Manuela Maleeva (No. 8) defeated West Germany’s Isabelle Cueto, 6-0, 7-6; West Germany’s Steffi Graf (No. 11) defeated Australia’s Anne Minter, 6-3, 7-6, and Catarina Lindqvist (No. 13) defeated Amy Holton, 6-1, 6-2.