Paris: There were seats to compete on the show courts — Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglin and Simon-Mathieu — but even a patch of shade on Roland Garros’ 34 acres lay empty on Wednesday, another 30-plus Celsius day. French Open In the midst of an unprecedented heat wave.Around the grounds, matches were rocked and sets ran from side to side as players struggled with energy and concentration. For the spectators, though, it was a different kind of endurance test. Hats, sunglasses and paper fans were in force, as were glasses in hand — beer, wine or water — as they braved the daylight conditions, which, like the Seine, stretched until about 10 p.m.It was the kind of day that made sense to be upset.For the most part, the favorites held their ground, but second seed Elena Rybakina crashed out of the women’s draw.The 26-year-old Australian Open champion, who looked troubled by the heat and conditions, lost 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (4-10) to the impressive Ukrainian Yulia Starodobtseva. Rybakina, who had lost nine of her last 10 games after taking the first set, barely got through the early stages of the second and decider, where she trailed 0-3.“I wouldn’t say physically I felt bad. There were matches when I felt bad,” Rybakina said. “Definitely lacked energy. I just couldn’t find the right balance on the ball. It was too slippery. In some moments I was just putting my legs, but it was all out of rhythm. It’s hard to say. It wasn’t that bad in practice.”The afternoon, however, belonged to Ukraine. “Honestly it’s hard to describe. I’m very happy,” said Starodubtseva, 26. “Elena is one of the top players. He has had an incredible year. I am very proud of myself that I was able to do it today. It was a tough third set, but I got it done.Four-time French Open champion Iga Svitek, who beat Czech Sara Bijelek 6-2, 6-3 to reach the third round, said the situation took some getting used to. Poole, who turns 25 on Sunday, said: “Sometimes I made a few mistakes playing high balls, because the ball was jumping quite high. It was not easy to decide whether this is the one you should go for or stay back and wait for the next one.”Poland’s Magda Linnet did Switek a favor by knocking out her nemesis Jelena Ostapenko to set up a third-round meeting with her third-seeded compatriot.Earlier at Langlen, 13th seed Karen Khachanov looked overstretched, but the 6-foot-6 Russian ran the script for nearly four hours with a 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4) victory over Marco Tringeletti, who at 36 is the oldest man to make his E10ra Open debut.The 30-year-old Russian said it was the warmest May in Paris in a long time. “For a match to be more physical, you have to be mentally strong, that’s the dynamic of the match. Sometimes the energy and concentration of the players goes down, so it’s very important to hydrate and use ice towels. The conditions are also very fast, the ball bounces a lot.”Eleventh seed Andre Roblio went on court intent on keeping things fast against Argentina’s Camilo Hugo Carrabelli, who made a point of putting every ball in play while dragging Roblio back and forth.“I knew if I wanted to win, I had to be in command,” he said after winning 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
