Superstar Rafael Nadal must continue his first-round match at the French Open against Italian Simone Bolelli due to a rain break on Tuesday. The match of the first in the world rankings was interrupted at 6:4, 6:3, 0:3 from the Spaniard’s point of view due to the increasing rainfall.
Until the break Nadal had had more problems than expected against 129th-placed Lucky Loser Bolelli, who had slipped into the main draw. In the second set, the 16-time Grand Slam winner had already made a break. Last year Nadal stormed Roland Garros without losing a set to “La Decima”, his tenth title at the climax of the clay court season.
Bolelli was one of eight players who had actually failed in qualifying to make it into the main draw due to cancellations from eligible players. The Italian, already Grand Slam winner in doubles at the Australian Open with Fabio Fognini, put his game on the offensive. Already in the second set Bolelli was leading with a break, Nadal converted the 1:3 into a 6:3.
Besides Nadal, Maria Sharapova (Russia) was also affected by the interruption on Monday evening. However, the 31-year-old’s first-round match against qualifier Richel Hogenkamp (Netherlands), which was scheduled on the Suzanne Lenglen court, had not even begun.