Spain's Nadal eased through the first two sets 6-4, 6-3 yesterday. After dropping the first two games of the third set, Djokovic turned the match around, winning eight games in a row to take his first set off Nadal at Roland Garros and going up a break in the fourth. After Nadal held serve for 1-2, play was halted and eventually called off, to be resumed at 1 p.m. today.
Organizers initially said the match would resume at 8 p.m. last night. The crowd on the main Court Philippe Chatrier whistled and booed when the tournament announced the postponement as rain continued. The final started at 3 p.m. and was halted for a first time for 34 minutes at the end of the second set.
Tournament director Gilbert Ysern told reporters it hadn't been possible to start the final an hour sooner because the forecast kept changing. He denied broadcasting contracts prevented the match starting earlier.
"TV does not dictate anything," Ysern said.
The clay-court tournament at Roland Garros has been hampered by rain in the past week. It's the first time since 1973 the event has gone into a third week. In that year, Ilie Nastase beat Niki Pilic in a final that took place two days late because of bad weather. More rain is forecast at Roland Garros today, according to the website of Meteo Consult.
