Rain means long day at French Open for Djokovic
PARIS -- Always so avant-garde, Serena Williams started this year’s French Open fashion of addressing the Court Philippe Chatrier spectators in their language.
Rafael Nadal followed suit after his first-round victory, as did Roger Federer, who’s done it for years.
And Novak Djokovic also got in on a ritual that’s become de riguer, telling fans in French at the end of a rain-disrupted Day 3 at the clay-court tournament, “The ambiance was awesome.”
That’s certainly one way to endear oneself to the locals.
“I really wanted too finish tonight,” Djokovic said after wrapping up his match shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, “although I know the crowd wanted to watch a little longer.”
Because of the wet weather, there was not much tennis to see - only two of the four matches originally sched-scheduled for Tuesday in the main stadium actually began. So Djokovic spent much of the afternoon wondering when he would wind up taking the court for what turned out to be a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-5 victory over David Goffin in the first round of the only Grand Slam tournament the Serb has yet to win.
“It was a difficult day, because we have been waiting for hours and hours. I think I warmed up five or six times today,” Djokovic said. “In these conditions ... you need to adjust your game and tactics, because it’s quite different than comparing to the conditions when it’s dry and sunny.”
Unlike Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Roland Garros does not have a roof at any court.
Unlike the U.S. Open, though, at least there is a definitive timeline to build one.
French Open officials said last weekend they would proceed with plans to put a retractable roof over center court despite a judicial ruling in March that put the project on hold. The roof would be completed in 2018 as part of a $440 million renovation.
Last year’s final between champion Nadal and runner-up Djokovic was halted in the fourth set Sunday because of rain, and they resumed Monday, the first time since 1973 the French Open
didn’t finish on time. AP