Poor weather is playing havoc with the French Open schedule for the second consecutive day.
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The 11th seed closed out the first-round match as umpires on other courts were pulling players off court again for more rain.
The two-time major champion has never made it beyond the semi-finals at Roland Garros and she looked on the verge of an acrimonious early exit in the French capital, when she trailed her Montenegrin opponent 5-4 in the deciding set.
A tennis tournament with a sense of humor, gotta love it.
Barring any more inclement weather, Djokovic will start his French Open campaign Monday.
Sixth seed Nadal was thoroughly dominated by Djokovic well into the first set, up two breaks of serve on the Spaniard at 4-0.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori was 6-1 5-4 ahead against Italy’s Simone Bolelli on Philippe Chatrier Court when the rain became too heavy and the courts were covered.
The rain delay of almost three hours has forced the postponement of matches that were scheduled for later Sunday, the tournament’s opening day.
But Kvitova, who is no stranger to long matches, found her form just in time to come through after two hours and 16 minutes.
Organisers have chose to end the opening day of this year’s French Open early.
The quarter-finalist from 2015 leads the Italian 6-1, 7-5, 2-1.
Montenegro’s Kovinic has never made it past round two at a Grand Slam but the 21-year-old made life hard for the 10th seed. Federer lost in three straight French Open finals to Nadal before finally winning the title by sweeping aside Robin Soderling in the 2009 final.
Last year, Wawrinka’s pink-checkered shorts were a major topic of conversation at Roland Garros, so much so that the Swiss player draped them over the table in front of him during his final news conference.
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Before he begins his quest for French Open glory, Novak Djokovic took some time to celebrate his 29th birthday Sunday.
