Forget noted that Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam tennis venue without a roof and insisted that the situation can not be allowed to continue. A pair of huge servers proved to be just what the doctor ordered for Murray, who raised his level considerably in straight-set defeats of Ivo Karlovic and John Isner. There’s plenty of time for operatic twists and turns to happen.
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The 2016 French Open has been filled to the brim with thrills and spills over the first week of competition results, and Monday’s rain stoppage presented an ideal moment to pause and celebrate the highlights so far. Veteran qualifier Radek Stepanek surged to a two-set advantage over Murray only to eventually bow out 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.
Right after the opening set ended, play was suspended on Court Philippe Chatrier because of the weather, and Djokovic and Bautista Agut headed to the locker room.
Matches were due to begin at 11am local time this morning and organisers took the decision to call all games off at 1:40pm.
Sky Sports reported this was the first time in 16 years that an entire day of play was abandoned due to the conditions, but those still left in the running may be pleased at the prospect of an extra day off.
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”.
“It was a very important tie-break to win”, Murray said.
With no play at all Monday, ticket holders were told to apply for refunds.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was initially scheduled to play against 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in men’s singles last 16 on Monday, when defending champion Serena Williams was to face 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina. Two, even. And both involved surprises: Two of the top half-dozen seeded women lost within minutes of each other, No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 6 Simona Halep.
With the women and men’s competition both having reached the Fourth Round, losing the second Monday raises the possibility of some players having to play on back-to-back days on their route to the finals this weekend.
None of them will go home looking as star-crossed as Djokovic will if he doesn’t win this title.
The 58th-ranked Bertens eliminated a seeded player for the third time in the tournament, after upsetting No. 3 Angelique Kerber, the Australian Open champion, in the first round and No. 29 Daria Kasatkina in the third round. Djokovic is now making his 12th visit to the tournament.
Djokovic has already won 11 majors, including five of the past seven, but American Davis Cup coach Jim Courier, a two-time victor here, recently joined a large chorus of former players and tennis experts who insist Djokovic needs a title here to make his case for best-ever over Roger Federer, who has 17 majors overall but hasn’t won one since 2012 at Wimbledon.
[I was] just motivated to play in the fourth round against one of the biggest players in the world with all the crowd cheering for me in Paris [on the] biggest stage in the world for a French player. “It is a long process”, Forget said at a news conference as rain beat down outside.
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“It’s important to find someone that understands exactly what you want from the coach/player relationship and it’s also important to me that they’re a good listener and are committed to helping me becoming the best I can be”. “I mean, for a grand slam you need to have lights”.
