Rafael Nadal will resume his quarter-final match of French Open 2018 against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina on Thursday, June 7 at the Philippe-Chatrier after rain forced a suspension in play on Wednesday evening.
When will the quarter-final match resume and how to watch it online in India
The last-eight match between Nadal and Schwartzman will resume on Thursday at 12 pm local time, 3:30 pm IST and 11 am BST.
Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.
Can Nadal avoid an upset?
World number one Nadal had won all five of his previous meetings with Schwartzman, including their pre-quarter-final tie at Madrid Open earlier this year. The Spaniard, considering his clay-court form this season, was expected to steamroll his 12th-ranked opponent.
However, Schwartzman helped raise quite a few eyebrows as he stunned Nadal to take the first set of the Roland Garros quarter-final 6-3, thereby ending the defending champion's winning streak of 37 sets at French Open that dates back to the 2015 edition of the tournament.
Have no fear, Diego is here.@dieschwartzman surprises Rafael Nadal and takes the first set 6-4,
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2018
ending his streak of consecutive sets won in Paris at 37.
Léger séisme sur le Chatrier ! Rafa Nadal vient de perdre son tout premier set de l'édition 2018 ! 6-4 Schwartzman#RG18 pic.twitter.com/fqy8tqV5Wl
Schwartzman, with his potent forehand, fired 20 winners in the first set as opposed to Nadal's three. The 25-year-old Argentine's work rate and on-court movement were top notch on Wednesday as he broke the reigning champion twice in the first set.
Nadal, who was struggling to find any rhythm, conceded an early break in the second set to go down 2-1. He broke back only to let Schwartzman convert another break point. The Spanish ace was trailing 3-2 when the heavens opened up for the first time on Wednesday evening.
Nadal swings momentum back in his favour
A 40-minute rain delay followed but it was a much-needed break for Nadal, who was in danger of going 2-0 down. The 16-time Grand Slam champion regrouped and came back strong to take a 5-3 lead before the rain started pouring down yet again. The match was suspended around 7:37 pm local time (11:02 pm IST).
Schwartzman had not gone past the third round in clay-court tournaments this year but has found form in the ongoing tournament. He had headed into the quarter-final after beating sixth seed Kevin Anderson in four sets in their Round of 16 clash.
The young Argentine needs to try and swing the momentum early in his favour when the match resumes later today if he is to stand a chance of causing one of the biggest upsets in Paris.
On the other hand, Nadal would have learned his lessons and a long break would have given him the much-needed time to reassess his strategy. Don't be surprised if the veteran wins this quarter-final in four games.
Cilic, del Potro to resume quarter-final tie on Thursday
Meanwhile, the quarter-final tie between third seed Marin Cilic and fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro was also suspended when the two were tied on five points each in the first set tie-breaker. The winner of the clash will take on the winner of the last-eight match between Nadal and Schwartzmann in the semi-final later this week.
French Open 2018 — Global TV listings and live stream
UK: ITV4, Eurosport; Live stream: Eurosport Player
US: ESPN2, NBC; Live stream: Tennis Channel
Australia: Fox Sports 3; Live stream: Foxtel Go
Canada: TSN
France: France TV Sport 234
Pan-European: Eurosport International
Japan: WOWOW, TV Tokyo
China: CCTV 5
Middle East: beIN SportsAfrica: SuperSport
