Several players were unhappy at being pressed into action amid damp conditions on Tuesday, while further controversy arose as a result of Novak Djokovic and Roberto Bautista Agut completing two hours of play on Court Philippe Chatrier – thus ensuring ticket refunds would not be given.
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Halep, the 2014 runner-up, lost 7-6, 6-3 against fellow former finalist Sam Stosur of Australia, who now goes on to face Pironkova in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic reaches his 10th career quarterfinal in Roland Garros, equaling the effort here of Rafael Nadal and just one behind the Open era record of 11, held by Roger Federer.
Moving on to the last-four stage, he’s scheduled to square-off against defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who brushed aside unseeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6.
Back on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday for a match that should have been played on Monday, Djokovic closed it out but encountered stiff resistance from the 14th seed, who forced him into lung-busting rallies.
Halep said she was not the kind of player to complain but felt conditions were not good enough.
The 21-time Grand Slam winning American next plays Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, a surprising victor over 12th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro with a duo of 7-5 on Wednesday.
But the most obvious comparison of a player coming out onto court with some canopied rain protection was back in 1988, when a teenaged Andre Agassi did the same thing.
What Henin thought of her charge Svitolina’s performance is anyone’s guess but unlike the Belgian’s often prickly encounters with Williams, Wednesday’s match ended with the two players sharing a joke and a warm handshake at the net.
The world number one, chasing the only grand slam title to elude him, will take on seventh seed Tomas Berdych after the big Czech defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.
Roland Garros witnessed its first washout for 16 years on Monday and the rain was still falling heavily on Tuesday morning.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant). Belgium’s David Goffin, rear right, and Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, center right, leave as rain suspended the fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, May 31.
Novak Djokovic faces a hectic schedule if he is to win his first French Open title after another sodden day at Roland Garros.
The eighth-seeded Swiss, who hasn’t dropped a set in her march to the quarterfinals, has a soft-spot for the insects, regarding them as “a lucky charm”.
Two women’s fourth-round matches were completed and the two losers – second seed Agnieszka Radwanska and sixth seed Simona Halep – both accused tournament organisers of not caring about their well-being and effectively forcing them to play in unsafe conditions. Then, on Tuesday, more rain allowed for a total of only 2 hours of play around the grounds, and Williams’ match was postponed again. “It’s a Grand Slam”, raged Polish star Radwanska after her 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Bulgaria’s world number 102 Tsvetana Pironkova.
The women’s singles final is supposed to be Saturday, with the men’s singles final on Sunday.
The matches between The Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens and the US’s Madison Keys, and Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro and Russia’s Yulia Putintseva have also been pushed back.
French Open organisers were also looking at taking another financial hit as rain continued to swamp Paris.
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Their match had been played in two spells between the rain with the first halted after 37 minutes with the top seed having dropped the opening set.
