Almost everyone is anticipating rain, lots of rain and possibly very heavy rain on Friday in Montreal and especially at the IGA stadium. But few people were expecting precipitation on Thursday evening.
The evening session of the men’s singles of the National Bank Tennis Open was postponed due to precipitation which, at times, increased in intensity during the evening.
The decision was announced shortly after 10 p.m. About 30 minutes earlier, workers were seen drying out the playing surfaces of the two main fields at the sports complex during a lull.
Then, just as the work seemed to be over and there was some hope that hostilities would resume, the rain started again, forcing the organisers to end the evening session.
The first drops of rain began to fall around 7 p.m.
At this precise moment, two singles matches were to begin, the one between Hubert Hurkacz and Thanasi Kokkinakis, on the central court, and the one opposing Flavio Cobolli, the one who defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday evening, to Arthur Rinderknech, on the Rogers court.
The match had time to start, but was interrupted after 15 minutes, with Rinderknech leading 3-0. The duel between Hurkacz, who is making a comeback after a right knee injury at Wimbledon, and Kokkinakis never got going.
In addition, at the same time on outdoor courts, two doubles matches were in progress and had reached the second round.
In addition, another singles match was scheduled for Thursday evening on center court. It was to feature Americans Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda.
Around 11 p.m., the management of the National Bank Open announced that all matches in Friday’s daytime session will begin at noon. Doors will open at 11 a.m.
At present, the tournament management and the ATP are hoping that as many matches as possible can be played on Friday.