“I’m just so surprised and angry that, you know, we have to play in the rain”, Radwanska told the media.
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After their fourth-round exits Tuesday, both Radwanska and Halep complained firmly about tournament organizers decision to make them play through drizzles or worse that made courts slippery and clay-caked tennis balls heavy.I mean, its not a (low-tier) tournament. “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. Pironkova turned the tables on Tuesday and completed a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
“But eventually if they have to play two matches in a row, they will do it”. I don’t care that I lost the match today, but I was close to getting injured with my back, so that’s a big problem.
Sixth seed Simona Halep, beaten in the 2014 final by Maria Sharapova, suffered a 7-6 (7/0) 6-3 defeat to former US Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia. “5-2 is a hell of a lot different to 4-3”. “In my opinion [Stosur] played really well and she deserved to win”.
Halep, who said that Stosur had been the better player and deserved to win, said she had felt in danger of hurting her back in the hard conditions.
“The the court was not good”.
The Australian Open has three roofs at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon added one in 2009, while a steel retractable roof will be fully functional before the first U.S. Open match in August in NY, leaving Roland Garros as the only uncovered slam.
“I didn’t know what kind of result or performance I was going to have regardless of the wrist injury, but I said after my first round I did exactly what I needed to do for that and sort it out and came here early”, added the 2011 US Open victor. I felt some pain in my back, in my Achilles. Four men’s fourth-rounders – including No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut – were suspended in progress.
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.
During one break, the top-seeded Djokovic, seeking to win a fourth consecutive major title and complete a career Grand Slam, wandered out onto Court Philippe Chatrier for a look at the weather, borrowing a green-and-orange Roland Garros umbrella from a fan.
The Serb had already dropped serve five times against a man he has defeated four times in four outings.
The women’s singles matches of Venus Williams – Timea Bacsinszky, KiKi Bertens – Madison Keys, and Carla Suarez-Navarro – Yulia Putintseva have also been postponed to Wednesday’s schedule. No. 11 David Ferrer (resumption), No. 13 Dominic Thiem vs. Marcel Granollers (resumption), No. 12 David Goffin vs. Ernests Gulbis (resumption); No. 1 Serena Williams vs. I just can not play in that conditions.
French Open organisers were also looking at taking another financial hit as rain continued to swamp Paris. Tournament director Guy Forget said that Monday’s washout would lead to a loss of around two million euros.
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The men’s final has only been played on the third Monday on two occasions – in 1973 and 2012 when Rafael Nadal defeated Djokovic.
