By Sean Farrell, special to EmiratesUSOpenSeries.

 

 

MONTREAL - The Rogers Cup was disrupted for a second straight day Friday as showers that began late in the afternoon ultimately caused the rest of the day's matches to be postponed.

 

There are particular challenges for tennis players to deal with while waiting out rain delays.

 

"The hardest part is just knowing how much to eat in between," Christina McHale said. "You don't know if you're going to go long and how much to eat and that, but I just listen to music a little bit. I sit with my coach and my mom, just talking, trying to stay focused, but at the same time try to relax a little bit."

 

McHale had a particularly unnerving delay to wait out Friday. Hometown girl Aleksandra Wozniak was one game away from winning her third-round match against New Jersey's McHale when the rain that plagued Thursday's schedule returned to Uniprix Stadium.

 

Wozniak led 5-2 in the second set after taking the opener 7-6 (5). The 24-year-old native of Blainville, Quebec never got the opportunity to serve for the win.

 

The showers let up in the evening long enough for the stadium's hard court surface to be dried.

 

McHale and Wozniak returned to the stadium well over four hours after the delay began 1 hour, 41 minutes into their match.

 

The players had warmed up and were all set to resume play when the umbrellas starting popping up in the crowd.

 

"It felt like we were jinxed," McHale said. "It was tough waiting around all day but us tennis players, we wait around a lot."

 

The match was ultimately postponed more than six hours after it was interrupted.

 

Wozniak double-faulted when play resumed Saturday, putting each of her first two serves into the net.

 

She aced her next serve and then double-faulted again as McHale went on to break and draw within 5-3.

 

The match that had begun nearly 24 hours earlier ended moments later as Wozniak closed it out to become the first Canadian woman to reach the tournament's quarterfinals since Patricia Hy-Boulais in 1992.

 

"I could have played a little bit better but credit to her because she played very well," McHale said.