French Open men’s final delayed; Nadal has lead

Associated Press

PARIS

His big lead over Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s drenched French Open final slipping away, Rafael Nadal tossed a soaked, clay-smeared tennis ball toward the chair umpire.

A drizzle was now a downpour, making the balls heavy, the clay court slippery and changing the complexion of a match with so much at stake: Djokovic’s bid to become the first man in 43 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles, and Nadal’s attempt to become the first man to win seven titles at the tournament.

Moments later, play was suspended with the No. 2-seeded Nadal trying to protect a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2 lead over a surging Djokovic, who’s seeded No. 1. A tarp was pulled over the court, and after another hour or so, the decision was made to stop for the day and resume today.

It’s the first time since 1973 that the tournament at Roland Garros didn’t conclude on a Sunday.

Nadal and Djokovic were scheduled to resume at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. in Youngstown) , when the forecast calls for intermittent rain. U.S. TV coverage will shift to NBC Sports Network.

Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach, said he thought action should have been suspended earlier Sunday because “he court was too wet.”

Djokovic was unable to counter Nadal’s clay-court brilliance in the second set.

Already down a set and serving at 3-3, 30-15 in the second, Djokovic sailed two forehands long to hand a break point to Nadal, who converted by ending an 18-shot exchange with a forehand winner down the line. Djokovic lowered his head, shook it, and slapped his thigh.

A game later, with Nadal ahead 5-3, the match’s first rain delay arrived. When play resumed about 35 minutes later Nadal quickly wrapped up the second set by breaking with a full-sprint, cross-court backhand passing winner, then charged to a 2-0 lead in the third.

That made Nadal 20 for 20 in sets over the tournament’s two weeks, and the title appeared near. But Djokovic grabbed the momentum and wouldn’t let go. He began hitting out more, trying to end points quickly, and it worked. He took eight consecutive games to collect the third set and open the fourth 2-0.

Finally, Nadal put a stop to Djokovic’s run by holding serve to win a game that made it 2-1 in the fourth set. That’s when the second delay began, after three hours of playing time.