Story highlights
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic through to second round of French Open in Paris
Poor weather disrupts day three with some matches switched to Wednesday instead
Home favorite Marion Bartoli edges tense three-set encounter with Olga Govortsova
Bernard Tomic, Florian Mayer and Alejandro Falla retire from their first round matches
Novak Djokovic survived a first set scare as he booked a place in the second round at Roland Garros after a day of intermittent rain disrupted the French Open.
Many matches had to be moved and the schedule reduced in the face of inclement weather in Paris, but the world No. 1 eventually disposed of unseeded Belgian David Goffin 7-6 6-4 7-5.
The Serbian didn’t get on Court Philippe Chatrier until late in the afternoon but after battling through a tight first set went on to book a round two match with Argentina’s Guido Pella.
“[Goffin] did really well at the start, and throughout all the match he was playing really nice tennis from baseline,” Djokovic told the ATP Tour’s official website.
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“It was a tough match. I needed to fight all the way through every set, and I served well when I needed to and played my best tennis when it was most important.”
On his next opponent, Pella, Djokovic added: “I know he’s one of the specialists on clay; a new player that is coming up and he made some surprising wins.
“I’m going to have to prepare myself and be on top of my game because, especially in the opening rounds, you’re playing players that have nothing to lose so I’m sure that he’s gonna be very motivated to play his best.”
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Australian Bernard Tomic retired hurt after losing the first two sets in his clash with Romania’s Victor Hanescu.
The 20-year suffered a muscle tear and at a press conference after his match said his controversial father would remain his coach.
John Tomic is facing criminal charges after allegedly headbutting his son’s training partner Thomas Drouet earlier this month, though he is claiming self-defense.
“My dad is in Paris, he’s still my dad and he will remain my coach. I love him a lot,” Bernard was reported as saying by AFP.
Two other players were forced to retire during their matches on Tuesday.
Colombian Alejandro Falla handed victory to Bulgarian 26th seed Grigor Dimotrov while Germany’s Florian Mayer, seeded 28, quit during his clash with Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.
Veteran Tommy Haas, the No. 12 seed from Germany, beat unseeded Frenchmen Guillaume Rufin 7-6 6-1 6-3. He will now play American youngster Jack Sock after the 20-year-old defeated Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets, 6-2 6-2 7-5.
The No. 9 seed, Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, eased past unseeded Dutchman Thiemo Be Bakker 7-5 6-3 6-7 7-5 while Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko is also through to round two after a comfortable 6-3 6-4 7-5 win over France’s Florent Serra.
Djokovic was forced to wait for his first round match after home favorite Marion Bartoli edged a tense three-hour encounter with Russia’s Olga Govortsova on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Bartoli took the first set on a tiebreak but surrendered the second 6-4 before securing the decider 7-5.
World No. 9 Samantha Stosur disposed of the oldest player in the competition – Japan’s 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm – thanks to a 6-0 6-2 victory in just over an hour.
A total of 57 players in the women’s singles draw had not been born by the time Date-Krumm first appeared at the French Open back in 1989 but despite defeat, she became the third oldest female player to participate at Roland Garros.
The No. 18 seed, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, recorded a 6-4 7-6 victory over Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova.
