Jankovic backs French Open roof plan

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-27 14:34

PARIS: Former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday backed Roland Garros's 116 million euro ($162million) plan for the French Open to imitate the Australian Open and Wimbledon by building a rain-proof, covered court.

A spectator wrapped in plastic and holding an umbrella sits on center court during the French Open tennis first round matches yesterday at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. Matches were suspended due to rain shortly after the start of play. [Agencies]

The fifth seeded Serbian shook off a two-hour rain interruption to reach the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic and will now face Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.

But as the rain fell and temperatures plummeted, 24-year-old Jankovic was keen to see the green light for the French Tennis Federation's proposal to build a new 14,600-seater arena which would boast a retractable roof.

"It's always a good idea to have a roof so then we can continue the match and we don't have to stop and wait around for an hour or more and then come back on court," said Jankovic, who was 4-1 ahead in the first set against her world No 85 opponent when the rains came.

"It's not so easy to stop the match and then especially being in the areas when you have to eat lunch. It's so crowded. There's so many people.

"It's tough to focus and have a relaxing time before you go on court again."

Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 runner-up, enjoyed a 6-1, 6-4 win over French wildcard Claire Feuerstein.

"I was happy with the first set, not the second as there were too many unforced errors. But I won it 6-4, so it's OK," said the 23-year-old Kuznetsova.

The 2006 runner-up now plays Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan, who put out India's Sania Mirza in straight sets, for a place in the last 32.

Feuerstein, the world No 236, who was making her Grand Slam debut, admitted tackling a top 10 player was not the ideal introduction to the big time.

"I thought that this is not the best draw for me. But then I thought, she's a player, a woman like me, and she's got two arms and two legs and plays tennis just like me," said the 23-year-old.

Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro reached the men's second round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over France's Michael Llodra and will tackle either Serbia's Viktor Troicki or Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot for a place in the last 32.

German veteran Rainer Schuttler, the 27th seed, was a first round loser, going down 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 to France's Marc Gicquel.

AFP