Victoria Azarenka made a dream start to her French Open campaign on Sunday despite mounting concerns over the conditions at this year’s tournament.
The 10th seed eased to a 6-1, 6-2, win over Montenegro’s Danka Kovinić but the talking point of that match was mother nature. Three games in Azarenka and her rival walked off the court after expressing unhappiness about the rain. Tournament official, Claire Wood, asked the former world No.1 to remain on the court until a decision was made by the referee’s office but she proceeded to walk off anyway.
“I think my opponent slipped a bit in the third game so she was also feeling a bit uncomfortable. I just asked are we still going to continue to play. Then Claire told me if I am willing to wait a little bit longer until the drizzle stops. I said absolutely not because I don’t see the point in sitting on the court when it’s eight degrees,” Azarenka told reporters after.
“I know, the conditions are the same for everybody.
“It’s very tricky at the moment with the conditions and I am not going to sit here and complain but sometimes I think there are smarter ways to handle the situation.“
Despite the mini break it did little to disrupt the momentum of the US Open semi-finalist who won nine out of 11 games played when she returned to action. Overall Azarenka won 79% of her first service points and didn’t face a single break point throughout.
This year’s French Open is taking place later than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the climate is much cooler. On top of that officials at the tournament have decided to change the ball to Wilson in a move that some players say is heavier to hit and slower.
“When you play at eight degrees it’s tough. There are adjustments you have to do. We can only predict if it is going to happen. Does it increase the risk of players getting injured? Absolutely,” Azarenka commented.
“Right now, I try to focus on what to do on the court and not what is not good.”
Azarenka is not alone in expressing her reservations. 20th seed Maria Sakkari said she hadn’t played in such conditions ‘for a long time’ following her 6-0, 7-5, win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović. The Greek number one overcame a patchy run of form during the second set by winning four games in a row from 3-5 down to move into the next round.
“It’s something that we are not used to. Personally, I haven’t played in these conditions for a long time. Not even practising. I think it is tough for everyone,” she said.
“It’s not nice to play in these conditions but we are professionals and are lucky to be playing here.
We have to just get used to them.”
The cold weather does elevate the risk of potential injuries occurring to players at Roland Garros which many are wary about. Although Sakarri is taking it all in her stride before admitting that she is prepared for the worst case scenario just in case.
“Warm up well and take good care of your body. It’s not the best conditions you can play but you just have to be mentally prepared for the worst,” she stated.
It was always inevitable that such situations were going to happen given the time of year the tournament is taking place. But some are wondering if Roland Garros should have go on at all this year?
“I wouldn’t particularly say so because I do believe that I want to play. We all want to compete and we want to play,” Azarenka weighed in on the debate.
“I think that there should have been better adjustments,maybe a little bit more consulting and heads up and conversation. I think that’s where we can improve, for sure.”
