Radwanksa, Stosur stunned; rain ends day's play

Agnieszka Radwanska lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria while Samantha Stosur knocked out Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep 7-6 (7/0), 6-3. Only two women's last-16 matches were completed leaving four men's and four women's last-16 ties as well as two men's quarterfinals to be held over until Wednesday.

Published : May 31, 2016 18:19 IST , Paris

Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska returns the ball to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova during their fourth round match on Tuesday.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska returns the ball to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova during their fourth round match on Tuesday.
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Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska returns the ball to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova during their fourth round match on Tuesday.

Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska crashed out in the French Open last 16 on Tuesday after losing 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. Radwanska was cruising when she led 3-0 in the second set on Sunday before the match was suspended, with play then completely washed out on Monday.

But World No. 102 Pironkova, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, dominated either side of another rain delay on Tuesday as she won 10 straight games to extend her best run at Roland Garros. She goes on to face former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur, the 21st seed, for a place in the semifinals.

READ: >Djokovic, Serena face epic schedule

Play was called off for the night at the French Open at 1900 local time (2230IST) after a rain-hit day which allowed around just two hours of play. Only two women's last-16 matches were completed leaving four men's and four women's last-16 ties as well as two men's quarterfinals to be held over until Wednesday.

Top seed and World No. 1 Djokovic was 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 ahead of Spain's 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut on Court Philippe Chatrier in his last-16 clash. Their match had been played in two spells between the rain with the first halted after 37 minutes with the top seed having dropped the opening set.

READ: >Angry Radwanska, Halep blast French Open over rain play

Samantha Stosur knocked out Romanian sixth seed Simona Halep 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 to advance to the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Play resumed with Halep 5-3 ahead after the last-16 tie was suspended on Sunday, but Stosur broke as the Romanian attempted to serve out the first set before rattling through the tie-break. Stosur, the 2010 runner-up at Roland Garros, again broke to open the second set with the 21st seed set to face second-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska or Tsvetana Pironkova in the last eight.

French Open organisers were also looking at taking another financial hit as rain continued to swamp Paris. Tournament director Guy Forget said that Monday's washout would lead to a loss of around two million euros.

However, with weather conditions set to improve from Wednesday, Forget was reluctant to suggest that the men's final would be pushed back to the third Monday.

The men's final has only been played on the third Monday on two occasions — in 1973 and 2012 when Rafael Nadal defeated Djokovic.

Roland Garros remains the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments not to have a court with a roof. Philippe Chatrier will not have a roof until 2020 at the earliest.

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