Zheng Qinwen battles to second round as storms lash Melbourne Park

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 star, 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.

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