-- reaches the third round, he could face Djokovic. That

PARIS -- Always so avant-garde, Serena Williams started this years French Open fashion of addressing the Court Philippe Chatrier spectators in their language. Rafael Nadal followed suit after his first-round victory, as did Roger Federer, whos done it for years. And Novak Djokovic also got in on a ritual thats become de rigueur, telling fans in French at the end of a rain-disrupted Day 3 at the clay-court tournament, "The ambiance was awesome." Thats certainly one way to endear oneself to the locals. "I really wanted to finish tonight," Djokovic said after wrapping up his match shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, "although I know the crowd wanted to watch a little longer." Because of the wet weather, there was not much tennis to see -- only two of the four matches originally scheduled for Tuesday in the main stadium actually began. So Djokovic spent much of the afternoon wondering when he would wind up taking the court for what turned out to be a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-5 victory over David Goffin in the first round of the only Grand Slam tournament the Serb has yet to win. "It was a difficult day, because we have been waiting for hours and hours. I think I warmed up five or six times today," Djokovic said. "In these conditions ... you need to adjust your game and tactics, because its quite different than comparing to the conditions when its dry and sunny." Unlike Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Roland Garros does not have a roof at any court. Unlike the U.S. Open, though, at least there is a definitive timeline to build one. French Open officials said last weekend they would proceed with plans to put a retractable roof over centre court despite a judicial ruling in March that put the project on hold. The roof would be completed in 2018 as part of a $440 million renovation. Last years final between champion Nadal and runner-up Djokovic was halted in the fourth set Sunday because of rain, and they resumed Monday, the first time since 1973 the French Open didnt finish on time. Djokovic was pleased to learn that a cover is coming to the main court in Paris, and he also is eager for them to install artificial lights. Both of those improvements would have contributed to a more stress-free evening Tuesday for the man ranked and seeded No. 1. He and the 58th-ranked Goffin, a Belgian who was one of the revelations at Roland Garros a year ago, did not begin until after 6:30 p.m., even though theirs was the second match of the day. They finished as light was fading. "It was a long day," Djokovic said. At least he got to play. Because of showers that began in the morning, there was a delay of more than 2 1/2 hours at the start. Then, after only 1 1/2 hours of action, another stop of more than an hour came. In the end, 26 of 40 scheduled singles matches were completed, three were suspended in progress, and 11 were postponed entirely. That means players such as Victoria Azarenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, was slated for first-round action Wednesday, the fourth day of the tournament (when, by the way, the forecast called for more rain). That sets up a situation where Azarenka, for example, would need to win seven matches across 11 days to take home the trophy, while 2002 champion Williams -- who got to begin the tournament Sunday and was scheduled to play in the second round Wednesday -- would have her seven matches spread over 14 days if she goes the distance. Also among those who had yet to play a real point heading into Wednesday was 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The Day 4 program featured second-round matches for 2009 champion Federer and 2012 runner-up Sara Errani. Tuesdays winners included 2010 French Open runner-up and 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, who beat 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan 6-0, 6-2. "It was spitting a little bit when we went out there," Stosur said. "You think, Oh, are we going to start or are we not? Lucky for me, I was able to finish the match before this last downpour came." Another Australian, Bernard Tomic -- whose father was barred from Roland Garros after being accused this month of head-butting Tomics hitting partner -- stopped because of a torn right hamstring while trailing Victor Hanescu 7-5, 7-6 (8), 2-1. Three other men retired during matches: No. 28 Florian Mayer (right thigh), Alejandro Falla (stomach problems), Simone Bolelli (right wrist). No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 12 Tommy Haas and No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber and No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov advanced, along with 20-year-old American Jack Sock in his French Open debut. If Dimitrov -- he and Maria Sharapova are an item, so he was asked Tuesday about dealing with paparazzi -- reaches the third round, he could face Djokovic. That would be an intriguing matchup, given that Dimitrov defeated Djokovic on clay at Madrid three weeks ago. "This is the kind of matches Id always want to play in," Dimitrov said. "I feel good on the big courts and playing against good players." Djokovic found Goffin in possession of that same attitude. In 2012, Goffin got into the French Open field as a "lucky loser" -- someone who loses in qualifying but is put in the main draw because another player withdrew -- and made it all the way to the fourth round. Thats when Goffin got to face Federer, his idol, and even took a set off the owner of the most career major titles before losing the match. "He has a good chance to have a good future," Djokovic said. "He likes playing here, obviously. He likes playing on a big stage." Perhaps. But Tuesdays key moment came in the first-set tiebreaker, with Goffin serving at 5-all. After he faulted once, a fan yelled, "Allez, David!" The 22-year-old Goffin then proceeded to miss his second serve, too, for a double-fault that gave Djokovic a set point. Goffin looked in the direction of the offending shout with palms up, as if to say, "What did you do that for?!" "Thats what happens sometimes. When you play in Davis Cup, you see that on every serve, basically," Goffin said. "Anyway, it was up to me to focus my mind. This is the type of thing that can happen, and can happen to anybody. So tough luck." Slip On Vans Discount . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Vans Old Skool Clearance Sale . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. http://www.cheapoldskoolwholesale.com/ . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Vans Old Skool Wholesale . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Cheap Vans Sk8 Hi Shoes . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Life is sometimes difficult as a West Bromwich Albion fan. The club rarely battles for cup success, almost never challenges for the Premier League title, and routinely found themselves fighting to stave off relegation over the past few seasons.But the Baggies faithful were treated to a nice opening weekend win over Crystal Palace, and hope to continue that success at home against Everton on Saturday.The Baggies failed to earn three points until their fourth contest of the season last term, and ended that campaign on a nine-match winless run after knocking off Manchester United, 1-0, on March 25. Needless to say, Salomon Rondons 74th-minute winner against Palace was a welcome relief for both West Brom fans and manager Tony Pulis, who has yet to truly dip into the transfer market as the club settles into the ownership of Chinese entrepreneur Guochuan Lai.West Brom captain Darren Fletcher hailed Rondons performance against Palace.Salo was fantastic, Fletcher said. He ran the line, held the ball up and battled really well against their two centre-backs. He looks fit and strong and is definitely in better condition than he was last season which is good to see.I think Salomon would tell you that too. I thought he was a great player for us last season but this season he looks even better. He came from the Russian league and didnt speak the language but he is now mixing with the squad a lot more and hes a lot more confident.The club heads into this fixture a bit lighter after defender James Chester was sold to Aston Villa. He made nine appearances for the Baggies since joining for 8 million pounds last summer from Hull City.Ronald Koemans first Premier League contest as Everton boss did not go as planned as the blue half of Liverpool was held to a 1-1 stalemate against Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park. Koemans boys got off to a dream start when Ross Barkley found the back of the net for the hosts in tthe fifth minute.ddddddddddddHowever, Erik Lamela fired home an equaliser just before the hour mark to force a share of the spoils.Despite the draw, Koeman was largely pleased with his clubs effort and of newcomers Maarten Steckelenburg, Idrissa Gueye and Mason Holgate.We lost a bit of control of the game in the last part of the second half, but overall I am very happy with the performance, he explained. The first 45 minutes was really excellent -- the energy we put in the game and the reaction of the fans supporting the team. We had the best chances. Before halftime we had a big opportunity to score the second goal which would have made it a totally different second half.(Steckelenburgs) saves were very important in that stage of the second half, the manager continued. Tottenham created the best chances in the final stages and you need to have a good goalkeeper to make saves in key moments and he has that quality.Having already made an addition to their forward corps in signing Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace, Koeman reiterated that he would not hesitate to continue to add to the squad should the right deal present itself.We always look at players (that will make us) have a stronger squad. Thats one of our jobs to do -- to improve the team, Koeman remarked. If we dont think we have that type of player in the squad, then we will sign that player.Maybe why we are doing our business a little bit late is because I took the time in the preseason to know what we need. We also have young players in the academy and we dont like to stop the improvement of young players. What we need in the team, we will bring in.West Brom claimed the last meeting between the sides with a 1-0 victory over the Toffees on Feb. 13 -- courtesy of a winning strike from Rondon after 14 minutes. ' ' '