PARIS: Novak Djokovic begins the defense of his French Open title at Roland Garros on Tuesday, confident his Grand Slam pedigree will help turn around his lacklustre season as tournament chiefs battled a frustrating five-hour rain delay.
By late afternoon on the third day, only four of the scheduled 40 first-round ties had been completed.
Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina were safely back in the locker room having benefitted from playing under the roofs of the Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen courts.
World number one Djokovic, seeking a fourth Roland Garros title and record-extending 25th major, is enduring his worst run since 2018.
Djokovic, 37, has not won a title in 2024 and has yet to make a final with semifinal spots at the Australian Open and Monte Carlo Masters his best performances.
He also suffered the indignity of being accidentally hit on the head by a metal water bottle in Rome which caused nausea and dizziness.
In Geneva last week, where he was knocked out by Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, Djokovic said he had been suffering from a stomach problem.
“They are rather bumps on the road,” said Djokovic, who watched his long-time rival and 14-time champion Rafael Nadal bow out of the tournament against Alexander Zverev on Monday.
When asked to elaborate further on his difficulties so far this season, Djokovic opted for discretion.
“Various things have been happening in the last couple of months, but I don’t want to get into it. I don’t want to open Pandora’s Box.”
On Tuesday, Djokovic will take on French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the world number 142 who hasn’t won a match on the main tour this year.
Ruud, who won clay-court titles in Barcelona and Geneva in the build-up to Roland Garros, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves.
“It’s great to be back here at Roland Garros,” he said. “Hopefully I can make it another good year here.”
Ruud was beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic in last year’s final following a one-sided loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 showpiece.
He also lost the 2022 US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz.
Frenchwoman Alize Cornet’s career ended with a straight-sets defeat by Zheng Qinwen in her record-extending 69th consecutive Grand Slam appearance.
Cornet was no match for China’s Australian Open runner-up Zheng, losing 6-2, 6-1.
She made her debut at Roland Garros as a 15-year-old in 2005 and has not missed a Grand Slam tournament since the 2006 US Open.
Cornet reached a career-high ranking of 11th in 2009 and enjoyed a surprise run to the 2022 Australian Open quarter-finals.
“I already cried yesterday watching Rafa,” said a tearful Cornet after seeing Nadal lose what was likely his last match at the French Open on Monday.
Over on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Rybakina powered into the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Belgian Greet Minnen and could face three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber for a place in the last 32.
Kazakh world number four Rybakina is the only player to defeat tournament favorite Iga Swiatek on clay this season, in the Stuttgart semifinals in April.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka gets her bid to reach a first Roland Garros final underway.
The world number two has reached at least the semifinals in each of the past six Grand Slam events.
Sabalenka is also the only woman to beat world number one and three-time French Open winner Swiatek in a final on clay — in Madrid last year — since the Pole lost her first WTA title decider as a teenager in 2019 at a low-key event in Switzerland.
The 26-year-old Sabalenka had never even reached the second week at Roland Garros until last year, when she was knocked out by Karolina Muchova in the semifinals.
She starts her Paris campaign against Russia’s Erika Andreeva.
Also on court in the men’s singles is Argentine qualifier Roman Andres Burruchaga who has sporting success in the blood.
His father Jorge famously scored the winning goal for Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the 1986 World Cup final against West Germany.
Ranked at 144, the 22-year-old is making his Grand Slam debut and takes on Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.

NEW DELHI: Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will look to end India’s global title drought as the star duo step out for what is likely to be their final World Cup appearance.
Rohit, 37, and Kohli, 35, have long been the twin torchbearers for the hopes of their cricket-mad nation, which last saw a major title triumph in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India made the final of last year’s ODI World Cup at home but lost to Australia in front of a crestfallen packed house at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
The T20 World Cup, starting June 1 in the West Indies and United States, may be the last chance both men have to hoist a trophy from one of the showpiece white-ball tournaments.
“Rohit Sharma knows he isn’t going to play for too long now. Just two to three years more. Same with Virat Kohli,” former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said on Star Sports.
“So this is the last chance for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
“They lost the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. They played as if they had the cup snatched away from them. Hearts were broken and fans were devastated.”
The next T20 World Cup will be in in two years’ time followed by the 50-over tournament in 2027.
The veterans will combine for India after a contrasting IPL season where Kohli dominated as a one-man run machine and Rohit’s team floundered.
Kohli topped the batting charts with 741 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, forming a thrilling opening partnership with the skipper Faf du Plessis.
Former India batsman Ajay Jadeja said Kohli had made his case to open for his side at the World Cup.
“For me, Virat Kohli opens,” Jadeja told Jio Cinema.
“If you have Virat in your side, you know consistency is the one thing you will get, so, might as well use him. He’s the best at the top and the powerplay allows him to settle in.”
Rohit was replaced as captain of Mumbai Indians by Hardik Pandya for this year’s season and had a patchy tournament, finishing with 417 runs which included a 61-ball century against Chennai Super Kings.
Rohit, nicknamed “Hitman” for his attacking play and big-scoring, signed off in his last league match of the year with a 28-ball fifty but his previous seven innings had produced just 88 runs.
Both men have been part of India’s past World Cup glories.
Rohit was part of the team’s victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 when India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the final at Johannesburg.
India’s last World Cup win came in 2011 when a young Kohli carried cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on his shoulders during their victory lap of the field.
Both men have faced pressure to deliver their side a title in the years since, but Kohli stepped down as T20 captain in 2021 and was then removed as ODI skipper in the same year without delivering.
Rohit, who led Mumbai to five IPL titles, picked up the baton but a World Cup trophy has proven elusive under his leadership as well.
In this year’s T20 World Cup India face Pakistan, Canada, the United States and Ireland in the group phase of the tournament, with Kaif saying the team had a clear run to the knockout matches.
“India hardly have competition in the group stage. There are only two main matches — the semifinal and the final,” he said.