Australia’s Jarmila Groth and Anastasia Rodionova set up a third-round match against each other at the French Open following upset victories overnight.
Groth defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm while Rodionova shocked 21st seed Vera Zvonareva to ensure Australia has at least one competitor in the fourth round this year.
Rain caused 16 singles matches to be postponed including those involving Sam Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt plus former champions Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion and former world number one, bowed out meekly 6-3, 6-0 to big-hitting Russian 28th seed Alisa Kleybanova, who has made the last 32 for the first time.
Serbian fourth seed Jelena Jankovic, twice a semi-finalist, also moved into the last 32 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi.
Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova were both one set up in their matches before the heavens opened.
Groth too strong
The 39-year-old Krumm, who returned to the sport in 2008 after 12 years in retirement, secured the biggest win of her ’second’ career by stunning ninth seed and former world number one Dinara Safina in the first round.
But the calf injury that flared up towards the end of that match returned to frustrate her against Groth, who also reached the third round last year, and she went down 6-0, 6-3.
Rodionova secured her passage with a 6-4, 6-4 win over the unpredictable Zvonareva but Australian qualifier Sophie Ferguson was eliminated by 17th seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2.
Date Krumm said she ignored doctor’s advice to play because she was desperate not to bow out prematurely.
“I went to the clinic and the doctor said: ‘Don’t play. It’s too risky,’” she said.
“So the result was not good but I’d had the same problems before and when I’m standing in the middle (of the court), sometimes I don’t feel pain.
“So I just tried to play. It’s a grand slam and it’s very, very special for me. My character means that I don’t like to retire or not play.
“I wanted to try to do my best and I wanted to continue. So that’s why I decided to play.”
Groth, the world number 107, said it had been a difficult match.
“She’s a really nice person so I did feel bad for her, when I saw her getting tired, knowing that everything wasn’t the easiest,” she said.
“I felt bad for her and it’s not easy for her but she’s an experienced player and she fought and she played till the end, so I give her credit for whatever it’s worth and I wish her all the best for the next tournament.
“She’s really good for the game. She may be a little bit older than everyone else but she can still keep it up and play very well.”
Ivanovic dumped
The defeat for Ivanovic, now ranked 42 in the world, was the earliest in her six visits to the tournament.
“I didn’t play that badly,” insisted the 22-year-old Serbian, who has failed to reach the fourth round of any Grand Slam since her 2008 win here.
“She didn’t miss many balls and made so many winners. I didn’t do too much wrong and was unlucky on some calls. Everything was going out.”
Kleybanova will now face Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova, who put out eighth seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, for a fourth-round spot.
Fifth seed Elena Dementieva defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) while 11th seed Li Na ousted Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-2, 6-2.
