Rain plays havoc with U.S. Open

   Rain wiped out all but 15 minutes of play Wednesday at the U.S. Open.
   Only three matches began at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Gilles Muller of Luxembourg led second-seeded Rafael Nadal 3-0 in the fourth round, Donald Young of Atlanta was ahead of No. 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain 2-1, and No. 21 Andy Roddick of Austin, Texas, led No. 5 David Ferrer of Spain 3-1 before rain halted action.
   Each match is scheduled to resume at 8 a.m. PDT Thursday. Also at that time, weather permitting, No. 28 John Isner of Tampa, Fla., will play No. 12 Gilles Simon of France in another fourth-round men's singles match, and third-seeded Vania King of Boyton Beach, Fla., and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan will face eighth-seeded Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic in the women's doubles quarterfinals.
   Young and Isner have won tournaments in the Sacramento area. King, a member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis, and Shvedova are defending their title against the reigning French Open champions.
   Thursday's weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms with a 40 percent chance of rain.
   Including the cancellation of Tuesday's schedule because of rain, the U.S. Open essentially has lost two consecutive days of play. Players in the bottom half of the men's singles draw, mentioned above, might have to win four matches in four days to win the title. Alternatively, a fourth consecutive Monday finish for the tournament is possible.