meREWARDS allows you to get coupons and earn cash when you answer surveys, dinner and buy with our partners
PARIS: Roland Garros set off in the bloodless “ridiculous” of Paris on Sunday (September 27) with former world number one Victoria Azarenka leaving the field, complaining that he is “too bloodless” to play.
The French Open, which moved away from its classic period from May to June due to coronavirus, began with a steady drizzle and temperatures struggling to succeed at 10 degrees Celsius.
Too much for Azarenka who left Suzanne Lenglen’s court almost abandoned after only three games.
“I don’t see the point of sitting in the box when it’s at 8 degrees,” said Azarenka, a two-time primary winner.
On the court he complained: “We’re sitting like ducks. It’s too cold, it’s 8 degrees, I live in Florida. It’s getting a little ridiculous. I’m not waiting,” he said before he went to seek refuge.
He returned here with a full 6-1, 6-2 win, with black leggings and a tracksuit shirt.
“Does this increase the threat of injury to players? Absolutely, I think so,” he added within a week in which bloodless and rainy situations are expected to continue.
This echoes the fears expressed through 12-time champion Rafael Nadal, who said situations combined with a new, heavier ball can cause problems with players’ elbows and shoulders.
On the Simonne Mathieu court, Belgian 16th seed Elise Mertens and Russian Margarita Gasparyan left the arena twice after interrupting the game due to slippery conditions.
However, there were no such problems for the most sensible seed and former champion Simona Halep, who swept with the circular moment with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Spanish world no. 70 Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Playing on the new roof of the Philippe Chatrier court, the Halep moment, which won the 2018 title, goes 4-2 but claims the last 10 games to progress in 82 minutes.
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner was honored to get the first victory on the roof, knocking down Belgian David Goffin, 11th seed, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.
Sinner, 19, has played 11 games in a row, beating Goffin for the time being in so many games.
Another early winner, Sebastian Korda, son of 1992 Roland Garros finalist and 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, who beat Italian Andreas Seppi 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Winter weather was the last thing organizers needed after betting on the cat and mouse with the Covid-19 effect in recent weeks.
An increase in cases reduced attendance to just 1,000 viewers according to the day. In 2019, more than 500,000 others watched the two-week tournament at the venue.
The organizers hoped to welcome 20,000 enthusiasts a day, but within a few weeks that figure was temporarily reduced to 11,500 and then to 5,000 before the French government reduced it to a maximum of 1,000.
“Million SMOKE”
“Tens of millions of euros vanished,” said Stéphane Morel, marketing director of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), while lamenting the loss of tickets.
Players, meanwhile, confined to two tournament hotels with strict restrictions on their movements.
On site, bustling shops, food outlets and other advertising stalls were closed.
Everyone in the tournament, adding players if in action or practice, are masked. Hand sanitizers dot the site.
Later sunday, Andy Murray and his three-time primary-winning teammate Stan Wawrinka will face off in today’s score-winning clash in a rematch of their 2017 semi-final superproduction.
The Swiss prevailed in sets, an attack so reluctant that he contributed to Murray’s long war with a hip injury that brought him to the limit of retirement.
Nadal, who is going to win a 13th Roland Garros and go on to draw with Roger Federer absent in a 20-bests record, plays on Monday against Egor Gerasimov, the 83rd-ranked Belarusian.
World number one Novak Djokovic, looking for an 18th major, will begin Tuesday with a record of 31 wins and a loss in 2020 due to his failure at the US Open when he swept a ball of frustration and beat a line judge.
The 33-year-old Serb faces Swede Mikael Ymer in the first round.
Serena Williams, in search of an elusive major, begins her crusade on Monday opposite fellow American Kristie Ahn.
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel to receive updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna. asia/telegram