Tropical storm cancels play for the day

By Pritha Sarkar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The arrival of the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna at Flushing Meadows forced U.S. Open organizers to postpone the conclusion of the semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray and the women's final to Sunday.

Steady rain stopped play during the second men's semi-final between world number one Nadal and British sixth seed Murray at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

Murray was leading Nadal 6-2 7-6 2-3 when play was halted at 2:48 p.m. EDT.

With heavy downpours expected to last for the rest of the day, play was cancelled on the 13th day of the hardcourt major at 1920 GMT.

The match between Nadal and Murray was moved from the main showcourt to Louis Armstrong Court and started one hour 40 minutes after the first semi-final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Four-times champion Federer managed to get back into the locker room before the arrival of the storm by reaching his fifth successive final with a 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Play began an hour earlier than scheduled on the main showcourt to try and get both semis finished before the arrival of the storm.

The women's final between twice former champion Serena Williams and Serbian second seed Jelena Jankovic was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. EDT but is now expected to take place on Sunday, weather permitting.

(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)