Capriati, Henin-Hardenne Win Only Completed Matches at Rained-Out US Open Monday; Big Schedule Tuesday, but Rain in the Forecast

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
No men's matches were played Monday at the US Open due to rain, with more rain on the horizon Tuesday. Guess the closable roof was not an option when building that oversize stadium court, where unless you're seated in the lower tier, it is like watching ants play tennis. Chalk another one up for the USTA.

On tap today is a smorgasbord of men's tennis in (1)Agassi vs. Dent (The Boss leads the head-to-head 2-0), (3)Ferrero vs. T.Martin (JC leads 1-0, last year at the TMS-Miami), (6)Hewitt vs. (11)Srichaphan (Hewitt leads 4-1), (7)Moya vs. (22)El Aynaoui (Moya leads 2-0, with a meeting in 2000 and 2002), (2)Federer vs. (13)Nalbandian (The Argentine has won all four career meetings, two last year, and two on hardcourt this year), (4)Roddick vs. Malisse (A-Rod leads 7-0), and (5Coria vs. Bjorkman (first meeting).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Only two matches were completed between rain showers Monday at the Open, with (6)Capriati defeating (11)Dementieva 6-2, 7-5, and (2)Henin-Hardenne pounding Dinara "Marat's Little Sis Who is So Slow" Safina 6-0, 6-3 (H-H led 6-0, 5-0). Capriati's match took 1 hour, 12 minutes on the court, but was stretched to 6:37 with the rain delays. Two other matches were underway when halted by rain, with (15)Sugiyama tied with (29)Schiavone at 6-6, and (7)Myskina leading Pierce 4-2 in the opening set. "It was so tough, in the end it was getting annoying," Capriati said of the multiple rain delays. "It's hard to play matches like that, because your rhythm is broken up by the delays. You worry about whether you're going to get the match in, or have to come back the next day. I was in a rush to get it finished. I felt tired when we came out for a third time, maybe my concentration wasn't there. But then I realized, 'What am I doing here?'...let's get it over with." And then probably, "I could be eating."

On court today are (1)Clijsters vs. (5)Mauresmo (Clijsters leads head-to-head 3-2), (3)Davenport vs. (24)Suarez (the American leads 5-0), (15)Sugiyama vs. (29)Schiavone to finish (Schiavone leads 1-0), and (7)Myskina vs. Pierce to finish (Russian leads 2-1).

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Can anyone stop the all-Belgian women's final?...Daniela Hantuchova made Newsday's list of "Matchstick Men and Women," joining the likes of Manute Bol, Lara Flynn Boyle, Calista Flockhart and Twiggy...For the first time since 1981 at the Open, the top eight seeds in the men's draw have advanced to the round of 16...Andre Agassi wasn't too happy the other day about having his match with Yevgeny Kafelnikov postponed until the next day after a rain delay: "To be the only match that didn't finish, I think was a mistake, an oversight in judgment. I had a long conversation (with Tournament Director Brian Early). I mean, the decision was sort of made unbeknownst to me or Yevgeni. You know, that's the first sort of issue with it, which is that the two guys that are affected most at least should be part of the process in whatever decision gets made. Mistakes happen. Brian Earley was great about it and said to me afterward, 'We could have handled that one a lot better.' That was good enough for me to say, 'All right. Well, let's put it behind us.'"...According to The New York Times, Lindsay Davenport was the only player to send flowers to Serena Williams after her knee surgery last month: "They were very nice," Serena said. "I've been following her matches and I'm really rooting for her."...Roger Federer came out during the rain delay yesterday to slam tennis balls at patrons in the crowd, which New Yorkers seem to enjoy...Michael Chang will be honored by the USTA tonight between matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the USTA's afterthought ceremony after Chang lost in the first round last week (was the USTA not ready for that?), but this will likely get rained out (do you then hold it indoors? In the cafeteria?)...Jennifer Capriati took a nap during one of her rain delays Monday: "When I want to sleep I can sleep. I'm used to taking naps. I take a nap every day."...Roger Federer played chess with Max "The Beast" Mirnyi during the rain delays...Check out this bad writing from Pam Shriver for ESPN: "Kim Clijsters (1), Belgium, vs. Amelie Mauresmo (5), France: This is the marquee quarterfinal -- no matter how the other round of 16 matches turn out. This illustrates the lack of the depth without the Williams sisters and Monica Seles. If this is the best of them, this is not the same quality we've come to expect in women's tennis. It's an enigma to me, why Mauresmo has so many health problems." It's an enigma to us, how you have a job...All day and night-session fans at the Open who purchased individual tickets for Monday through Ticketmaster or the US Open box office will have the option to exchange tickets at the box office for a Tuesday-Thursday session. If you didn't buy from the box office, you're screwed...Under the tournament's 'Inclement Weather Policy,' organizers had not been obliged to offer ticket exchanges due to the start time and length of the Capriati match...Mary Pierce is the lowest-ranked women's quarterfinalist at No. 64...This is the first US Open quarterfinal for Justine Henin-Hardenne...If Kim Clijsters beats Amelie Mauresmo, she shuts out countrywoman Justine Henin-Hardenne from taking over the No. 1 ranking at the US Open...Paola Suarez is the first Argentine to reach the US Open QF since Gabriela Sabatini in 1995...How funny is it to watch Dinara Safina lumber around the court when she walks, with the same gait as brother Marat Safin?