French Open starts amid a heat wave in Paris. Djokovic to play Perricard in the night match

PARIS (AP) — The French Open started amid a heat wave in Paris on Sunday.

Among the early matches on Day 1 of the clay-court Grand Slam were 13th-seeded Karen Khachanov against Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne-Lenglen and 15th-seeded Marta Kostyuk against Oksana Selekhmeteva on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

Read more NC Supreme Court upholds Duke Energy rate increase from 2023, which charges eastern and western NC residents differently

The temperature was already 26 degrees Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) when play started at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) and was due to soar to 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit).

Spectators folded newspapers in half and fanned themselves to keep cool as players on court attempted to stay hydrated.

The opening match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the main stadium, was due to start an hour later with 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic playing Sinja Kraus.

Read more Man dies in single-vehicle Roxboro crash on Hurdle Mills Road

The night match on Chatrier features three-time champion Novak Djokovic against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Two days after his 39th birthday, Djokovic will play a men’s record 82nd Grand Slam tournament — one more than Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez.

Read more Britain’s navy prepares to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz while waiting for a peace deal

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis