French Open 2016 Schedule: Replay TV Coverage, Livestream for Tuesday's Draw
It took until the third day of the tournament, but the 2016 French Open finally got off to a normal start without a rain delay mucking up the schedule and postponing matches.
Day 3 at the Roland Garros courts in Paris features plenty of the top names in the sport starting their tournament journeys. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are all on the schedule. Should the good weather hold up, Tuesday will count as the most star-studded day of the tournament yet.
Livestreaming for Tuesday can be found at the Tennis Channel website. As for replay television coverage, you can tune in to the Tennis Channel from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m. ET.
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Notable Early Results from Day 3
Unseeded Kiki Bertens notched one of the big shocks of the tournament so far on Tuesday, as she knocked off No. 3 Angelique Kerber in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Kerber won her first Grand Slam with a win over Serena Williams in the final of the Australian Open this year, but she couldn't translate her considerable success to the clay courts of the French Open.
The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg noted Bertens, 24, was building off recent success:
Tatjana Maria also scored an early upset in the women's draw on Day 3, taking down No. 23 Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
It wasn't all bad for seeded players in the early goings on Tuesday. No. 2 Andy Murray narrowly avoided a first-round upset on Tuesday, as he fought back from two sets down to defeat Radek Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.
The match had actually started on Monday, but Murray was unable to complete his comeback before rain washed away the day's play. The Scottish superstar praised his veteran opponent after earning the win, per the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell:
"He had a serious back injury last year that kept him out for nine months. It’s unbelievable to be doing that at 37. I don’t think I will be doing that at that age.
He’s always been extremely difficult to play. He was serving well, used a lot of drop shots. I had the momentum when we stopped yesterday but I knew anything could happen when we came out today.
"
Roland Garros has the video of Murray battling to win match point:
Murray got the win, but he will have to be sharper in his second-round matchup against France's Mathias Bourgue if he wants to stay in the tournament.
Fourth-seeded Nadal's star has fallen over the past year or so, with injuries and poor performances at Grand Slams threatening to strip him of his elite status in the game of tennis. However, the nine-time French Open winner looked plenty ready to earn a 10th title at Roland Garros with a breezy 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 opening-round win over Sam Groth.
The hard-serving Groth still managed 10 aces to Nadal's one in the match, but the latter refused to make mistakes. Nadal made just three unforced errors and won 47 of 80 receiving points.
A brilliant tweener delighted the crowd at the Suzanne-Lenglen Court, and it was a sign that Nadal's confidence, athleticism and flair might all be available to him at this tournament.
The Spaniard is now 71-2 at the French Open—a brilliant record that makes him a front-runner for the title in 2016 despite not having reached a Grand Slam final since the 2014 Aussie Open.
A potential semifinal matchup with Djokovic could make for a true epic, as the Serbian is looking to win his first French Open title and finally complete the career Grand Slam.
Match stats courtesy of RolandGarros.com unless otherwise noted.
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