Title contenders Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty face a cramped schedule over the next few days after Wednesday’s play was washed out by torrential rain at the 2019 French Open.
Reigning champion Halep was scheduled to play American teenager Amanda Anisimova on Court Philippe-Chatrier, while Barty, 2019’s breakout star, was to take on Madison Keys on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Djokovic, seeking a second title at Roland-Garros to become only the second man to hold all four Grand Slam title simultaneously, was scheduled to play fifth seed Zverev, while Karen Khachanov was to play 2018 runner-up Dominic Thiem.
The loss of the day’s play means the two remaining women’s singles quarterfinals, the semifinals and final need to be completed in the next three days if the original deadline is to be met. But with rain forecast for Friday as well, that seems unlikely.
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Joanna Konta and Marketa Vondrousova are scheduled to play for a place in the final on Thursday, which means the winner of that match will have at least a day’s rest more than whoever she faces for the title.
For the men, the development is an advantage for the other two semifinalists, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who won their quarterfinals on Tuesday and will have had two more days of rest for the final.
The French Open is the only Grand Slam without a retractable roof in case of rain. But that won’t be for long. Court Philippe-Chatrier was largely demolished after the 2018 tournament and rebuilt in time for this year’s edition, and it’ll have a retractable roof in place for 2020.
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