Houston Open Faces Massive Problem As Weather Ruins Another Day
ATP
Fans at the 2023 Houston Open didn't get to enjoy a lot of action. The weather continues ruining one day of action after another.
Like all the tournaments held this week, the ATP 250 event in Houston, also called the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship, was scheduled to be held between April 3rd to 9th.
However, the tournament organizers might have problems finishing on time, as rain continues disrupting their plans. Despite the event being scheduled to start on April 3rd, the players didn't manage to complete any second-round matches in the first four days.
On Thursday, players didn't get to compete a lot, and the struggles for the tournament organizers continued also on Friday, but not many finished. For example, former champion Steve Johnson and the top-seeded Frances Tiafoe have yet to start their second-round match.
Moreover, there's still one more first-round match that has yet to be finished. Max Purcell and Daniel Altmaier have yet to finish the first-round match, which some of the players managed to complete four days ago.
If the play doesn't resume today, since the forecast still predicts rain and at this moment, all courts are soaking wet, the tournament will have to continue tomorrow. However, the forecast predicts a lot of rain for tomorrow as well and that would be a disaster for the 2023 Houston Open.
The ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo will start immediately after the conclusion of the Houston Open, which means that the tournament organizers won't really have a chance to extend the tournament.
The tournament organizers could still use a solution that was used at the 2023 ASB Classic in Auckland when the event was relocated to indoor courts. However, it's not clear whether the tournament organizers have an indoor clay court available or whether the players would need to change the surface.
