Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska beat the rain to reach the second round of the US Open at a stormy Flushing Meadows.
Third seed Radwanska had a tough second set against Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor but came through 6-0 7-5 while fifth seed Li defeated Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-2 6-2.
Dark clouds were gathering before the pair were off court, and not long afterwards play was suspended because of the threat of lightning.
Soon heavy rain was falling, and organisers announced there would be no play before 2.30pm local time (7.30pm BST).
Li said: “I was so lucky before the rain came that I finished the match so I don’t have to wait and warm up and come to the court again. It is tough for (everyone else).
“For me, I’ll just relax for the rest of the day and do whatever I want to do.”
Li could play 30th seed Laura Robson in the third round in a repeat of last year’s clash at the same stage, which was won by the British teenager.
Robson was just about to start her clash with France’s Caroline Garcia when play was stopped.
Play began on the show courts around two hours after it had been suspended, but it was only a brief window before the rain began to fall again.
Venus Williams managed just two points of her match against Zheng Jie on Louis Armstrong, while Robson and Garcia’s court had just finished being dried when the rain returned.
Meanwhile a tearful Heather Watson admitted she had let an opportunity slip away as she went out in the first round to 21st seed Simona Halep.
It looked like the 21-year-old was going to join Dan Evans and Laura Robson in the second round in New York when she won the first set on Court 11.
But a costly slip-up in the ninth game of the second set turned the match and Watson fell away in the third to lose 4-6 6-4 6-2.
Although Halep is not one of the big names of women’s tennis, she has been arguably the form player of the tour over the last three months.
The Romanian has won four of her last seven tournaments only Serena Williams has won more during the season with her latest victory coming in New Haven on Saturday.
Watson is still looking to rediscover her best form after suffering from glandular fever earlier in the year and has slipped to 76th in the rankings.
The Guernsey player said: “All in all I’m pleased with how I played but I had my chances definitely and I had an opportunity to win that match in two sets. But she’s got the confidence and she won the points when it mattered.
“I think that’s why it hurts a lot is because I was so close.”