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Play abandoned at French Open due to rain

The umbrellas are out at Roland Garros, where play has been blighted by bad weather
The umbrellas are out at Roland Garros, where play has been blighted by bad weather

Play at the French Open was abandoned on Monday because of rain - the first time in 16 years that no tennis was played for a whole day at the Roland Garros tournament.

The tournament has been blighted by poor weather this year but there have been enough dry spells to keep things broadly on schedule.

That changed on Monday as rain delayed the start of play and, with the forecast poor for the rest of the day, organisers decided to cancel all play at 1.40pm local time.

Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams had been due to play their fourth-round matches but will now have to try again on Tuesday.

One day lost to rain is not a major headache, but the worry is the forecast is not good for much of the rest of the week.

Roland Garros is the only one of the four Grand Slam venues - the others being Melbourne Park, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows - without a court covered by a retractable roof.

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