Grigor Dimitrov reached the French Open second round while Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm bowed out on Tuesday as torrential rain caused havoc at Roland Garros.
Dimitrov, dubbed ‘Baby Federer’ because of his similar style to the 17-time Grand Slam winner, went through to the last 64 when Colombian opponent Alejandro Falla retired with the Bulgarian 26th seed 6-4 1-0 to the good.
Dimitrov could face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Dimitrov was just one of three winners in early action on Tuesday after heavy rain caused a three-hour delay to the start of the programme.
Barely 90 minutes of play was possible before the rain returned. “I am happy that I finished the match. It’s never easy to play the first round in a Grand Slam especially with the weather the way that it was,” said Dimitrov, who is seeded at a major for the first time.
The 42-year-old Japanese lost 6-0 6-2 to Samantha Stosur.
“Stosur is so strong and she’s a specialist on clay,” said Date-Krumm. “Today she didn’t make mistakes because I couldn’t put her under pressure.”
Djokovic began his campaign later on Tuesday against Belgian opponent David Goffin after a frustrating day battling the showers. At the time of going to press, Djokovic had won the first set 7-6(5) after a tiebreaker.
Goffin, the 22-year-old, world No. 57 from Liege, enjoyed a stunning debut at the French Open last year when he came through qualifying as a lucky loser to reach the last 16 where he took a set off Federer before losing in four. Goffin has yet to get beyond the third round of a tour event in 2013.
Wild card Gael Monfils confirmed there is never a dull moment when he takes part in the French Open by upsetting Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych in a first-round marathon at Roland Garros on Monday.
The Frenchman, whose career has been recently plagued by a knee injury, prevailed 7-6 6-4 6-7 6-7 7-5 in front of an ecstatic Court Philippe Chatrier after four hours three minutes.
Former world No. 7 Monfils, who started his freefall in the ATP rankings when he pulled out of last year’s French Open, is no stranger to upsets and prolonged ties at his home slam. “It’s magical here, it’s a place where I feel good, where I manage to transcend myself,” Monfils said.
Asked how he pulled it off, he said, “My answer is I worked. I worked. And I believed in myself. I have gone through very difficult moments, so necessarily, you know, you get tougher.”
Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic, whose father was banned from attending the French Open because of an assault investigation, retired from his first-round match. The 61st-ranked Tomic was treated for a right hamstring problem in the first set but played on until stopping while trailing 7-5 7-6 (8) 2-1 against Victor Hanescu of Romania.
