Rain’s not a pain for cool Novak

Novak DjokovIc was in ominously phlegmatic mood yesterday for a man whose dreams of a first French open title are being conspired against by the elements.

The world No 1 refused to join in the chorus of complainants who had to play through the drizzle on Tuesday after making his way through to a delayed quarter-final to be staged this lunchtime.

Djokovic finally saw off troublesome Spaniard Roberto Bautista agut after a third-set resumption, beating him 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5, a win which makes him the first tennis player to pass $100million in prize money. He now meets one of his perennial whipping boys, the czech Tomas Berdych.

The 29-year-old Serb complained about similar conditions when he lost to andy Murray in last month’s Italian open final, but was in jolly enough mood to don a fisherman’s hat as he was interviewed after completing the fourth round.

‘ Yesterday the match was interrupted three times, and of course it wasn’t easy coming in here at 9am and leaving at 7.30 or 8pm,’ he said.

‘But it’s not the first and probably not the last time I’m going to have to face these particular circumstances. conditions were definitely on the edge throughout the entire day yesterday. Bautista and I played more than two sets in the mist.

‘It was literally maybe five to 10 minutes we had yesterdayrday on the court without rain. So it was practically raining ng throughout the entiree play, which made it more and more difficult.

‘You have to adjust. I’m in the quarter-finals, and I dropped one set. So things are going the right way. of course I know I can play better and nd I have a couple more gears.ears. That excites and motivatestes meme.’ ’

He did, though, repeat his call that officials should wear proper tennis shoes when they assess the fitness of lines and court surfaces in the rain.

Serena Williams has an even more acute problem if she is going to retain her title, playing for a theoretical four straight days if the weather somehow holds.

The defending champion today faces one of several obscure quarter- finalists, kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, after eliminating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-1 in just 62 minutes.

Williams has the disadvantage of f being behind her prospective final opponent in the schedule. That will be either last year’s Wimbledon finalist, Garbine Muguruza, or muscular australian Samantha Stosur.

They both managed to finish their matches in the gloom yesterday, and are guaranteed a day off today whatever the heavens dictate.