Preamble
There’s been plenty of talk since today’s schedule was released about the men stealing the women’s thunder but the greatest concern for the players may be the rain. Tournament organisers are hoping that by starting both women’s semi-finals early and away from Philippe Chatrier, where only the men will take centre stage – a decision the WTA has called “unfair and inappropriate” – they’ve got the best possible chance of completing the matches. But with the threat of pluie, pluie et plus de pluie there’s the very real chance of a chaotic weekend schedule or even a men’s final on Monday.
It would be a shame if the weather or scheduling controversy detracted from four matches that bring into sharp focus the contrasting state of play in the men’s and women’s games. While the men’s semi-finals feature the top four seeds, the owners of 52 grand slam titles and Rafa v Roger Episode 39, Johanna Konta is the only remaining woman to have even played a major semi before in a field that contains two unseeded teenagers and zero slam finals. The British No 1 will surely never get a better chance to claim one of the game’s biggest prizes at a slam where she’d never won a match before last week. The ancien régime still rules in Paris on the men’s side but a revolution is taking place among the women.
Play begins in both women’s semi-finals (if the weather behaves, which is currently is): at 10am BST/11am Paris time.
kevin mitchell
(@kevinmitchell50)#FrenchOpen day 13… https://t.co/YsKOE32xM8 pic.twitter.com/s8ueiQ5Yge
Updated