Early signs of Hurricane Earl stop play at US Open; Clijsters wins before rain arrives

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Rain from Earl stops play at Flushing

NEW YORK — Play at the U.S. Open has been suspended because of rain, with one of the outer bands from Hurricane Earl reaching Flushing Meadows.

As a light rain picked up Friday, players were sent back to the locker room. Among those on the court were 18-year-old Ryan Harrison, who trailed Sergi Stakhovsky 2-1 in the fifth set. American John Isner split the first two sets against Marco Chiudinelli and fourth-seeded Andy Murray had a 2-1 lead in the first set against Jamaican Dustin Brown.

No. 2 Kim Clijsters, No. 5 Samantha Stosur and No. 12 Elena Dementieva wrapped up wins before the rain began.

Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal were on the schedule for Friday night. The forecast called for intermittent showers through the day.