PARIS (AP) — The Latest from the French Open:
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1.33 p.m.
The rain has eased and Roland Garros ground crews are now sweeping water off the court covers. It’s been more than two hours now that play has been suspended but it looks like matches will be resuming soon.
Unlike at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, there is no roof over the center court at the clay-court Grand Slam. A retractable roof is expected to be ready in 2019. Until then, let’s hope for a bit of sunshine.
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12:50 p.m.
The best-case scenario was too optimistic. With covers still on courts, organizers are now saying that play won’t resume before 1.15 p.m at Roland Garros. The forecast is a mostly wet afternoon. It’s not unlikely that rain will wash out the rest of the day.
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11:55 a.m.
There is at least one person who will enjoy the first rain delay of what is expected to be a wet day at Roland Garros.
Local hope Alize Cornet was off to a bad start in her fourth-round match against 19th-seeded Elina Svitolina on center court, trailing 3-0 after dropping her serve twice when their match was suspended after 21 minutes. The rain gives her the chance to refocus in the locker room as she bids to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
On court Suzanne Lenglen, former Roland Garros champion Ana Ivanovic was up 3-2 against Ekaterina Makarova before ground crews rolled the covers over the red clay.
Organizers said matches won’t resume before 12.15 p.m. in the best-case scenario.
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11 a.m.
The big losers on Sunday at Roland Garros could be the fans as weather forecasts don’t look good at all.
Covers have been removed on the two courts where big matches are taking place Sunday, but showers could break within the next hour according to the latest forecast.
With clouds rolling on over Paris, many of the fans that arrived early at the Roland Garros stadium have been wise enough to bring umbrellas and raincoats
Good news for now is that play has started on time after ground crews put finishing touches to the courts. Local local favorite Alize Cornet faces Elina Svitolina on court Philippe Chatrier and former champion Ana Ivanovic is up against Ekaterina Makarova on court Suzanne Lenglen.
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