Roland Garros had its first day of significant rain disruption, a good two and a half hours of it, as the second week beckoned enticingly to some, but not all. Hardest hit were undoubtedly the final two women’s fourth-round matches between Maria Sharapova and Lucie Safarova, and between Flavia Pennetta and Garbine Muguruza, which were postponed until Monday. But we did get three out of the four men’s fourth-round matches out of the way.

French spirits took some pummelling, though, as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga first raised their hopes and then had people in despair as his will seemed to cave in while serving for the match in the third set. It was enough to give Tomas Berdych the slimmest of routes back in, while all the while looking very troubled with some back strapping. Berdych made the most of the chance offered to him, taking the tiebreak and breaking Tsonga early in the fourth set. Fans waiting for the showdown between Roger Federer and Gael Monfils were in all kinds of anxiety as it looked for a time that we were heading for a five-setter. Out of somewhere, Tsonga regained his resolve, breaking Berdych twice before serving out the match to love.

He explained, “When it was time to finish, I played a little bit differently and because he's a good player, he came back in the match. Then I started to miss a little bit more. But I had a good reaction in the fourth, and finally I won it.”

Alas, things did not go as well for Gilles Simon, who was on the receiving end of a very determined Stan Wawrinka, bowing out in straight sets, as did Teymuraz Gabashvili to Kei Nishikori.

Of course, all the focus was on Federer, Monfils, and a Longines clock shaped like a giant watch in the corner of the court. The players will have known that the chance of getting the match completed with poor light and the threat of further showers was minimal. With that in mind, Federer started with quite the agenda. He built up a 3-0 lead, much to the crowd’s dismay, before ripping through the rest of the set in just 29 minutes.

However, Monfils is nothing if not one for the occasion. He mirrored Federer in the second set by setting up a 3-0 lead. Even though Federer broke him back towards the end of the set, Monfils simply broke back again, including a blistering forehand that left us wondering where that power, consistency, and range had been in the first set.

With the tournament supervisor coming on court immediately at the end of the second set, the crowd were getting their booing in fine tune, as play was suspended with the good-natured agreement of both players.

Rain delays are a pain at any time, but perhaps more so as we approach the business end of a Grand Slam, with either Federer or Monfils having to potentially play Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Still, the weather is supposed to be blustery but without the rain that (quite literally) dampened the day’s proceedings.

Play will resume at 11am CET with the two women’s postponed women’s matches scheduled first with Federer and Monfils to follow on Chatrier.