Thunderstorms lashed Melbourne Park on the opening day of the Australian Open but fifth seed Zheng Qinwen safely reached round two.
Less than an hour of play was possible on the outside courts on the first morning before an intense storm hit, sending spectators scurrying for cover as thunder crashed overhead and torrential rain left walkways looking like rivers.
Matches were able to continue on the three covered courts, and Zheng, the runner-up last year in the women’s singles, opened proceedings on Rod Laver Arena.
The Chinese player, who went on to win Olympic gold in Paris, did not have things all her own way against Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni but battled to a 7-6 (3) 6-1 victory.
Zheng looked in complete control serving for the set at 5-4 and leading 40-0 only for Todoni to win five points in a row.
The Romanian then held three set points with Zheng serving at 5-6 but could not take any of them and things were comfortable for the fifth seed thereafter.
“The first match is always not easy,” said Zheng in her on-court interview. “She’s playing really good but I was doing a bit stupid mistakes at 5-4 40-0, I don’t know what happened there.”
Teenager Mirra Andreeva could be a factor come the latter stages of the tournament and she began strongly with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova.
Sixth seed Casper Ruud survived a major scare to avoid a first opening-round loss at a grand slam since Wimbledon four years ago.
The Norwegian was twice pegged back by Spaniard Jaume Munar but proved too strong in the deciding set to claim a 6-3 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-1 victory.
Also prevailing in a fifth was Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori, who came from two sets down to beat Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6 6-7 (4) 7-5 6-2 6-3 for just his second slam victory since 2021.
The 35-year-old former US Open finalist has been dogged by injuries in recent years but, after saving two match points in the third set, he extended his five-set record to a superb 29 wins from 37 matches, coming through in four hours and six minutes.
Play outside was finally due to get under way more than six hours after being suspended.
