PARIS: Roland Garros got under way in the “ridiculous” chill and damp of Paris on Sunday with former world number one Victoria Azarenka walking off court, complaining that it was “too cold” to play.
The French Open, which was pushed back from its traditional May-June slot due to the coronavirus, began in steady drizzle and temperatures struggling to reach 10 degrees (50F).
It was all too much for Azarenka who left the almost deserted Court Suzanne Lenglen after just three games.
“I don’t see the point of sitting on the court when it’s eight degrees,” fumed two-time major winner Azarenka.
On court she complained: “We are sitting like ducks. It’s too cold, it’s eight degrees, I live in Florida. This is getting a little ridiculous. I’m not waiting,” she said before storming off to seek shelter.
She returned to complete a 6-1, 6-2 win, playing in black leggings and a tracksuit top.
“Does it increase the risk of players getting injured? Absolutely, I think that it does,” she added ahead of a week in which the cold, wet conditions are forecast to continue.
That echoed fears expressed by 12-time champion Rafael Nadal who said the conditions combined with a new heavier ball could cause elbow and shoulder problems for players.
On Court Simonne Mathieu, Belgian 16th seed Elise Mertens and Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan twice left the arena after also halting play due to the slippery conditions.
There were no such problems, however, for top seed and former champion Simona Halep who swept into the second round with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Spanish world number 70 Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Playing under the new roof of Court Philippe Chatrier, second-ranked Halep, who won the 2018 title, trailed 4-2 but claimed the final 10 games to progress in 82 minutes.
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner had the honour of claiming the first ever win under the roof, demolishing Belgian 11th seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. The 19-year-old Sinner reeled off 11 games in succession as he defeated Goffin for the second time in as many meetings.
Another early winner was Sebastian Korda, the son of 1992 Roland Garros runner-up and 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, who saw off Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
VENUS KNOCKED OUT
Venus Williams suffered a third successive first round exit at the French Open as she lost in straight sets to Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
The 40-year-old Williams, runner-up at Roland Garros to sister Serena in 2002, was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by an opponent who snapped a 12-match Grand Slam losing streak.
It marked Williams’ third first round defeat in a row at a Slam after exiting the US Open and Australian Open at the same stage. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has not been past the third round at a major since 2017.
Williams dropped serve six times in cold, blustery conditions in Paris as Schmiedlova registered her first main draw victory at a Slam since the 2015 US Open. Her reward is a second round tie against Azarenka.
NISHIKORI THROUGH
Japan’s Kei Nishikori surrendered two sets 6-1 but still managed to battle past Britain’s Dan Evans.
The 30-year-old, playing only his fifth match of the year after elbow surgery and a positive COVID-19 test which ruled him out of the US Open, won 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4. — AFP
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