It was about four hours into the nearly five-hour rain delay - give or take an eternity of huddling and watching the water plummet down - during which every writer covering the Rogers Cup Wednesday began considering the idea of a story about watching The Weather Channel.

By then, a total of eight minutes of tennis had been played between American Robby Ginepri and Spain's David Ferrer. It was a fine eight minutes and everything, but not quite enough to carry the front page of the sports section.By 5 p.m., local time at the Rexall Centre, the Grand Slam-style schedule had finally begun. Rafa Nadal trundled out onto Centre Court; Ferrer, the No. 5 player in the world, resumed his match over on the grandstand; and four other matches fanned out across four other recently squeegeed courts. For most of the day, the covered Rexall Centre concourses had resembled the most affluent refugee camp in the world, until the tennis came to liberate them.

The world's No. 2 had not played since winning the greatest match ever played over No. 1 Roger Federer at Wimbledon two weeks earlier, and had practised on hardcourt for barely more than a week. That might have explained how the muscled Spaniard fell behind Ottawa-born American qualifier Jesse Levine 4-1 in the first set, getting broken at love and having to escape two more break points at 1-4. Rafa was tentative, and the kid across the net was swinging away.

"He started playing very well, amazing shots," said Rafa, 22. "After some games I started to feel a little bit better, no?"

Indeed, against the sport's giants matches can turn quickly, and this one did. Levine failed on both break chances to push it to 5-1, and an awakened Rafa won the next five games, and the first set.

"I think I was in that zone where I wasn't sure really where I was," Levine said. "And then I came to my senses and realized I'm playing Rafa on (the) stadium court."

"Today wasn't my best match," Rafa said. "I have to be better, that's for sure. (I have to play with) more topspin, and . . . especially more intensity."

Levine has served as a hitting partner for Federer in Dubai, and he failed to totally dissipate. After Nadal broke him for a 3-1 lead, Levine forced three break points in the next game, each of which represented a chance to make it a match. They vanished, though, and the final score read 6-4, 6-2.

"You get that feeling playing against him - you feel like you've got to do something bigger than normal, which is not the right feeling to have, because he is human," Levine said. "You try and come up with shots from out of your mind, or out of your shorts . . . but the guy doesn't make many mistakes."

The bad news? As of the early evening, the Weather Channel forecast called for scattered showers, then a chance of thundershowers, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. today in the Toronto area. So that story may wind up getting written after all.