(Paris) A light rain falling on Roland-Garros delayed the entry on stage of the Canadian tennis players, Saturday at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Laval’s Leylah Annie Fernandez was scheduled to kick off activities on Court 9 at noon local time. About 15 minutes before her match was set to begin, organizers confirmed that the start of matches on the unroofed courts had been pushed back 90 minutes to 1:30 p.m. That deadline has been extended a few times since then. The latest news is that matches won’t start until 4:15 p.m.
Fernandez, 16e seeded, has a date with the Czech Karolina Muchova, finalist at the French Open in 2023.
Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu must then follow them on court 9, for a duel against Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
For his part, Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime must play on court 14 against American Marcos Giron. This match is the second scheduled on this court.
Fernandez is due back on court later in the day for her first-round women’s doubles match against Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski.
The game, however, started on time under the roofs of the Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen stadiums.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland beat Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2, 7-5 in the first, while No. 4 Jasmine Paolini of Italy defeated Romania’s Ana Bogdan 7-5, 6-3 in the second.
PHOTO ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL, REUTERS
Iga Swiatek
Men’s favourite Novak Djokovic of Serbia is next on Philippe Chatrier Court, facing Australia’s Matthew Ebden. Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are set to begin their men’s doubles campaign in the evening against sixth-seeded Argentinians Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
Djokovic has won only one Olympic medal: bronze in singles in Beijing in 2008. However, he has won 24 major titles, including three at the French Open.
Nadal won Olympic gold in singles in 2008 in Beijing and in men’s doubles with Marc Lopez in 2016 in Rio. He could be playing his last lap at Roland Garros, where he has won 14 major singles titles.
Alcaraz, champion at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, begins his singles campaign against Lebanon’s Hady Habib. This match is the second scheduled on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Saturday.