Bengaluru, Oct 16: The intensity of the rain may have eased off but the start-stop affair throughout the day meant the SKME ITF Open was a non-starter for the second day running at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Tennis Stadium here on Wednesday.

“We were forced to call off play today because of the persistent rain,” said ITF Supervisor Saman Hassani. “The ground staff tried several times to dry the courts, but every time the courts were ready, there was another spell that disrupted the schedule,” he added.

To make up for the backlog of 24 matches, the ITF official said they were planning to tweak the format a bit on Thursday. “After conversation with the International Tennis Federation, we decided to have the first and second round singles matches tomorrow with the format of two tie-break sets and the decider being a super tie-break,” said Hassani.

“On Friday, we are planning to play one round of singles, which is the quarterfinals, and two rounds of doubles to get back on schedule,” he said.

SHRIVALLI WITHDRAWS

Earlier in the day, top-seeded Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty withdrew from the $15,000 event on medical grounds. Shrivalli, who finished runner-up in the ITF Mysore Open on Sunday, was feeling a bit under the weather since her return from Mysore. She will be replaced by a lucky loser before the match on Thursday