Ivanovic out but Li wins in rainy Paris
Source: Agencies |
May 28, 2010, Friday
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ANA Ivanovic hit another low yesterday in her slide since winning the French Open two years ago, losing 3-6, 0-6 to 28th-seeded Alisa Kleybanova in the second round at a rainy Roland Garros.
The former No. 1 player was unseeded because she's ranked only 42nd. The defeat marked her earliest exit in six trips to the French Open.
The match lasted barely an hour - brief enough to be completed between showers. Play was delayed for 4 1/2 hours at the start, and another delay began late in the afternoon.
Four other matches were completed, all on the women's side. No. 11-seeded Li Na of China and No. 17 Francesca Schiavone won, while 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm lost to Jarmila Groth 0-6, 3-6.
Date Krumm became the oldest woman since 1985 to reach the second round when she upset former No. 1 Dinara Safina, the runner-up in 2008 and 2009.
No. 32-seeded Kateryna Bondarenko lost to Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 1-6. Li defeated Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2, 6-2 and Schiavone swept Sophie Ferguson 6-2, 6-2.
Six singles matches were postponed, including those involving Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, meaning they won't play their second-round matches until at least the sixth day of the tournament. Nadal is to face Horacio Zeballos, and Williams plays Julia Goerges.
Sixteen doubles matches were also postponed.
"It's not very pleasant to have to wait," Cohen-Aloro said. "But we're all in the same situation."
No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick led Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-5 when their match was suspended. Those still scheduled to take the court yesterday included four-time champion Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic.
Shoulder injury
Ivanovic has been nursing a right shoulder injury, and her serve was unreliable against Kleybanova. Ivanovic made less than half her first serves, including only 35 percent in the second set, and she won just 17 service points while double-faulting seven times.
The Serb is 10-10 this year and has won a total of two matches in the past three grand slam tournaments.
Kleybanova advanced to the third round for the first time.
During the first rain delay, the players' cafeteria and lounge areas in the main stadium were packed with players and their entourages, and there were long queues at concession stands and souvenir shops. Several hundred fans sat under umbrellas on center court watching a video replay of last year's final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling.
Rain fell with the tournament already behind schedule following three delays on Wednesday, the longest of which lasted 90 minutes.
Four men's second-round matches were suspended because of darkness on Wednesday night, and four women's matches were postponed.
The only washout of an entire day's schedule on record at Roland Garros occurred on May 30, 2000. Even so, the French tennis federation has been pushing for a roof and has studied the possibility of moving the tournament, with a site next to the Versailles castle among the locations being considered.
A project announced last year to build a new court with a retractable roof less than 500 meters from the current center court was blocked because of political issues.
Wimbledon added a retractable roof last year atop a stadium that opened in the 1920s, and the Australian Open has retractable roof over two courts. But the French and US Open must wait when it rains.
The former No. 1 player was unseeded because she's ranked only 42nd. The defeat marked her earliest exit in six trips to the French Open.
The match lasted barely an hour - brief enough to be completed between showers. Play was delayed for 4 1/2 hours at the start, and another delay began late in the afternoon.
Four other matches were completed, all on the women's side. No. 11-seeded Li Na of China and No. 17 Francesca Schiavone won, while 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm lost to Jarmila Groth 0-6, 3-6.
Date Krumm became the oldest woman since 1985 to reach the second round when she upset former No. 1 Dinara Safina, the runner-up in 2008 and 2009.
No. 32-seeded Kateryna Bondarenko lost to Aleksandra Wozniak 4-6, 1-6. Li defeated Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2, 6-2 and Schiavone swept Sophie Ferguson 6-2, 6-2.
Six singles matches were postponed, including those involving Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, meaning they won't play their second-round matches until at least the sixth day of the tournament. Nadal is to face Horacio Zeballos, and Williams plays Julia Goerges.
Sixteen doubles matches were also postponed.
"It's not very pleasant to have to wait," Cohen-Aloro said. "But we're all in the same situation."
No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick led Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-5 when their match was suspended. Those still scheduled to take the court yesterday included four-time champion Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic.
Shoulder injury
Ivanovic has been nursing a right shoulder injury, and her serve was unreliable against Kleybanova. Ivanovic made less than half her first serves, including only 35 percent in the second set, and she won just 17 service points while double-faulting seven times.
The Serb is 10-10 this year and has won a total of two matches in the past three grand slam tournaments.
Kleybanova advanced to the third round for the first time.
During the first rain delay, the players' cafeteria and lounge areas in the main stadium were packed with players and their entourages, and there were long queues at concession stands and souvenir shops. Several hundred fans sat under umbrellas on center court watching a video replay of last year's final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling.
Rain fell with the tournament already behind schedule following three delays on Wednesday, the longest of which lasted 90 minutes.
Four men's second-round matches were suspended because of darkness on Wednesday night, and four women's matches were postponed.
The only washout of an entire day's schedule on record at Roland Garros occurred on May 30, 2000. Even so, the French tennis federation has been pushing for a roof and has studied the possibility of moving the tournament, with a site next to the Versailles castle among the locations being considered.
A project announced last year to build a new court with a retractable roof less than 500 meters from the current center court was blocked because of political issues.
Wimbledon added a retractable roof last year atop a stadium that opened in the 1920s, and the Australian Open has retractable roof over two courts. But the French and US Open must wait when it rains.
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