NEW YORK (AFP) – Rain and lightning fears halted play at the US Open on Wednesday, stopping seven singles matches and delaying the start of matches for past champions Venus Williams and Juan Martin del Potro.

Officials said play would not resume before 2:30 p.m. local time (1830 GMT) in part because of threatening lightning in the area.

Williams, the 60th-ranked winner of the 2000 and 2001 US Opens, was set to face China’s 56th-ranked Zheng Jie at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Argentina’s fourth-seeded Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, was preparing to meet Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at Arthur Ashe Stadium.