PARIS: Four of the survivors in French Open women’s singles face the prospect of playing three days in a row to win the title after heavy rain washed out the day’s action yesterday.
Defending champion Simona Halep’s quarter-final against Amanda Anisimova and Australian Ashleigh Barty’s clash with Madison Keys will now be played today – the scheduled day for the women’s semi-finals.
Both women’s semi-finals will then be played tomorrow with the final in its rightful place on Saturday, although more bad weather is forecast and tournament director Guy Forget said there was even the chance the women’s final could go to Sunday.
“That’s not what we want to do,” Forget said when a Sunday finish for the women’s draw was mentioned.
“Some girls might be playing three days in a row. First of all, it’s a very difficult task for one or two of them.
“Most of these girls have been waiting all of their lives to play such a big match, and to actually be playing a match of that magnitude with already two matches in their legs is a difficult task.
“If we have to move the final the following day, it’s something that could happen.”
The weather is expected to be drier today when the two remaining men’s quarter-finals featuring Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov are also played, but tomorrow’s forecast is for regular showers.
All the singles semi-finals, including Roger Federer’s clash with Rafael Nadal, are now scheduled for tomorrow.
Forget said they could possibly use three different courts to make sure they get them all played. Semi-finals are usually played on the main Philippe Chatrier court.
“We could technically play on two courts, on three courts, but at one point it’s a call we’ll have to make,” Forget told a news conference.
Forget said he hoped the tournament would be concluded on Sunday, although more rain over the coming days could see a repeat of 2012 when Nadal completed his final win over Djokovic on the third Monday of the championships.
“When we have uncertain weather, of course, it’s very hard to predict, but we have to always study the worst-case scenario, knowing that ideally we want to try to finish on Sunday.”