Roland Garros, which is usually played in late May and early June, has exceptionally been moved to September this year due to a coronavirus pandemic. The terrible weather conditions currently prevailing in Paris already had an impact on this tournament. Unfortunately, the forecast for the rest of the week in Paris is also not good. Those who bet on tennis know that paused matches can be a reason for bookmakers to set the odds to 1.00 and we will surely see a lot of paused matches in the following days.
“It’s very cold, which makes it difficult for everyone. It’s a bit extreme conditions to play in. The conditions are probably the most difficult I’ve ever experienced at Roland Garros for different reasons.” – said a worried Rafa, one of the favourites to win this tournament according to tennis betting odds.
Azerenka Made Umpire Pause Match
Among the first ones to feel bad weather on their skin were the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and the Montenegrin Danka Kovinić.
Belarusian tennis player Victoria Azarenka, a finalist in the US Open, made an umpire at the Roland Garros on Sunday to pause her first-round match against Montenegrin Danka Kovinic due to the cold weather.
The umpire asked the players to wait on the field, but the Belarusian rebelled, emphasizing that it was completely unreasonable to stand outside in such cold weather. Both players, with Kovinic’s consent, left the field before the umpire allowed them to do so.
“This is getting ridiculous,” Azarenka told field umpire Suzanne-Lenglen, forcing him to stop the match after just three games.
“Don’t you see what’s going to happen? It’s too cold,” Azarenka said. “We can’t hold the racket because it’s too wet,” she added.
Roof Problems
Other matches that started at the same time were not interrupted. The central court which has a movable roof hosted a match between Belgian David Goffin and Italian Jannick Sinner. However, the court was not covered at that time.
Meanwhile, young Italian Jannick Sinner (74th on the ATP list) prepared a kind of surprise against 11th seed David Goffin, with an authoritative victory of 7: 5, 6: 0, 6: 3, in two hours long match.
“I am happy because I went down in history as the first tennis player to play under the roof at Roland Garros” – said Sinner, who has just turned 19.
And as for the roof covering the court, not everyone is happy. There are openings on the sides of the roof through which the wind blows. On top of that, even drops enter inside during heavy rains. The organizers point out that they wanted to adapt the conditions to the maximum outdoor game. It’s not certain that the players will like that idea too.
