Rafael Nadal Leads Simone Bolelli by Two Sets at French Open, Play Suspended

French Open 2018 favourite Rafael Nadal will have to return to the court on Tuesday, as his first-round clash with lucky loser Simone Bolelli was suspended due to rain early in the third set.

The men's top seed held a two-set lead when the skies opened up. Set scores were 6-4, 6-3 and 0-3 when play was halted, per Sports Illustrated. 

Bolelli started the match as a massive underdog and came up with an audacious game plan, striking the ball as flat as possible. It was a risky strategy but one that paid off early, as Nadal struggled to deal with the pace.

The tournament favourite did have his break chances but couldn't covert a single look until the 10th game (at 5-4), when he pushed the pace and grabbed his first break to win the set.

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times was not surprised:

But the setback didn't slow Bolelli down, and the Italian doubled-down on his strategy, grabbing an immediate break to start the second set. Per tennis writer Nick Nemeroff, it was a great performance, given Nadal's superb form of late:

Bolelli's advantage would only hold until the sixth game, and once Nadal got the break he needed to tie things up, the second set played out quickly. The Spaniard would push his momentum to a second straight break, serving out the set to take a 2-0 advantage.

Live Tennis thought a change in the weather had something to do with Bolelli's sudden struggles:

But once again, the Italian made a bright start to the next set, grabbing a break to take a lead of his own. Record's Jose Morgado also weighed in on the playing conditions and how they might favour the underdog:

The rain would eventually lead to a suspension of the match. After a brief check on the weather forecast, tournament organisers decided to call off all matches.

Nadal likely wished the break in play came a little sooner―a light rain had been steadily falling―and on better court conditions, there's no reason to believe he can't make quick work of Bolelli on Tuesday.