Casper Ruud, Donna Vekic and Jessica Pegula miffed with delayed Italian Open schedule release
Casper Ruud, Donna Vekic, and Jessica Pegula expressed their exasperation regarding the delay in the release of the Italian Open schedule which would dictate the order of play on Sunday, May 14.
On Saturday, May 13, a rain delay played spoilsport in Rome causing the second-round clashes on the men's side to be impacted greatly. The downpour resulted in suspended matches for Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jiri Lehecka, and Frances Tiafoe. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev's matches were postponed altogether.
As a result, the schedule for Sunday became congested, causing frustration among players due to the delay in its release.
Rune took to social media and shared the timings for his third-round clash against Fabio Fognini.
"Sunday not before 12:30 on grand stand," Rune tweeted.
🥳 #seeyou
Sunday not before 12:30 on grand stand 👀🥳 #seeyou https://t.co/unf1TEG2BI
Vekic responded to Rune's tweet by asking him if he had access to the rest of the schedule, as she was unaware of the scheduling details for her third-round match against Liudmila Samsonova.
"If you know the rest of the schedule please share," she commented.
@holgerrune2003 If you know the rest of the schedule please share 🤣🙄🥱
Ruud too shared his annoyance with the delay as he posted a gif of a skeleton with the overlay reading "patiently waiting." The Norwegian will be up against Alexander Bublik in the third round.
@josemorgado https://t.co/APLe3Jzsa5
Pegula, who is set to take on Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Alexandra Panova alongside doubles partner Coco Gauff on Sunday, expressed her amusement at the situation with laughing emojis.
@DonnaVekic @holgerrune2003 😂😂😂😂
Magda Linette also used an emoji to denote her amusement at the delay in the release of the schedule. While Linette was ousted from the singles event by Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round, she will take on Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan alongside doubles partner Marketa Vondrousova on Sunday.
@DonnaVekic @holgerrune2003 😅
How Casper Ruud, Donna Vekic, and Jessica Pegula have fared at the Italian Open so far
Following a bye in the first round, Casper Ruud began his Italian Open campaign with a straight-sets victory over Arthur Rinderknech. The fourth seed will take on Alexander Bublik in the third round. Bublik defeated Pedro Martinez in the first round and Ben Shelton in the second to book his spot against Ruud.
Donna Vekic came back from a set down to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and advance to the third round in Rome. She will take on Liudmila Samsonova next, who is coming off a straight-sets victory over Anett Kontaveit.
Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula was unable to get going at the Italian Open as she lost her tournament opener against Taylor Townsend, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.