Sportmaster International

This year’s French Open has been hit by bad weather Officials want to extend the Roland Garros complex in Paris and build a stadium with a roof.All but 14 matches on the opening two days of the 2007 French Open were washed out by rain.”The works could start in 2009,” said French Open general director Jean-Francois Vilotte on Thursday.”The first few days of the tournament, with heavy showers, have demonstrated the interest of having both a larger stadium and a centre court

with a retractable roof to limit scheduling problems.”Ideally, the 2011 French Open would take place on the extended venue.”The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has been working for years on a plan to extend the stadium and the scheme was part of the Paris bid to stage the 2012 Olympics.However, defeat to London in the race to host the Games and environmental issues have delayed the project.