On second day of French Open

Heavy rain brought more havoc to the French Open on Monday with the scheduled 1100 (0900 GMT) start time delayed by 90 minutes leaving organisers' hopes of playing 66 matches looking decidedly optimistic.

With rain not expected to ease until around 1500, the tournament was already facing a backlog after just over four hours of play were possible on Sunday.

Temperatures also plummeted to a chilly 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) although forecasters expect highs of around 24 degrees by the weekend.

If the rain relents, Andy Murray and defending champion Stan Wawrinka are due to start their campaigns against a pair of fiery Czechs.
Second seed Murray, a three-time semifinalist in Paris, takes on 37-year-old Radek Stepanek, the oldest man in the draw and one of a record 51 men over the age of 30 to start the first round.

Murray, buoyed by beating world number one Novak Djokovic to the Rome Masters title on clay on the eve of Roland Garros, holds a 6-2 career record over Stepanek.

But the wily Czech is a former world number eight who is a Grand Slam doubles and Davis Cup champion.

Despite his advancing years, Stepanek came through the qualifying competition and that's a factor which makes Murray wary of the challenge.

"The qualifiers have played three matches. That's tough," said Murray.

"They are probably feeling pretty good about their conditions and comfortable on the courts."
Stepanek is one of the game's more entertaining characters whose antics on court occasionally get under the skin of opponents.

Off court, his life is just as colourful -- he was engaged to Martina Hingis, married and divorced former player Nicole Vaidisova and briefly dated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Wawrinka, who shattered Djokovic's latest attempt to complete the career Grand Slam with victory in last year's final, takes on another Czech, Lukas Rosol.

Rosol famously defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012 and was involved in a bad-tempered clash with Murray in Munich last year when the Scot told the Czech that "everyone hates you".

Wawrinka defeated Rosol as recently as last Friday in the semi-finals in Geneva on his way to the title.

Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori is due to complete his match with Italy's Simone Bolelli.

Nishikori was leading 6-1, 7-5, 2-1 when play was halted on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday.

Victory would give the 26-year-old Japanese his 50th Grand Slam win.

Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland starts against Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski.

Radwanska was a quarter-finalist in 2013 but lost in the first round to Germany's Annika Beck last year.

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2009 champion, resumes against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan at 4-6, 6-1, 3-1.

Fourth seed Garbine Muguruza starts against Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova with a 4-0 career advantage.

But Schmiedlova, the world number 37, made the third round in 2014, defeating Venus Williams on the way.

Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 champion, takes on France's Oceane Dodin.

Source: AFP