Emma Raducanu’s opening match against Camila Osorio at the Hobart International has been suspended for the day due to rain, with the Briton leading 6-2 2-4.
The British number one is warming up for next week’s Australian Open and chose to head to Tasmania for some time on the court, having lost her only match in last week’s United Cup in Perth.
She made a good start against Colombian Camila Osorio, taking the first set before rain interrupted the second.
The inclement weather came at a good time for Raducanu, who is the top seed in the tournament, as she was up against an Osorio fightback.
She will now get the chance to regroup before returning to court, not before 2am (GMT).
Raducanu cruised to the opening set, taking it 6-3 after a dominant performance.
At 40-0 up in the first game of the second set, the Briton would have been hoping for a routine victory.
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Highlights of the United Cup match between Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
But Osorio broke and although Raducanu hit straight back, the Colombian then won the next three games to open up a 4-1 lead.
Raducanu immediately claimed one break back before rain forced a 45-minute delay.
They came back at 8.45pm local time (9.45am BST) but managed just three points before the rain started again and that was the end of play for the day.
Jacob Fearnley could not make the most of his second chance at the Adelaide Open.
The British No 3 lost in qualifying but was handed a lifeline after getting into the main draw as a lucky loser.
There were other Brits in action too over at Australian Open Qualifying. Billy Harris, Jan Choinski, Ryan Peniston, and Mingge Xu all suffered losses.
However, Harriet Dart progressed to the second qualifying round in Melbourne as she bids for a place in the Australian Open main draw.
Dart, the British No 5, beat Australia’s Destanee Aiava 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 and will face Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee next.
Williams loses at Hobart ahead of Australian Open return
Venus Williams fell to a straight sets 6-4, 6-3 defeat to sixth seed Tatjana Maria less than a week before her appearance at the Australian Open.
The 45-year-old Williams received a wild-card entry for the first Grand Slam event of the year. She also had a wild card to play in Hobart, where she lost to Maria in a match lasting almost one and a half hours.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, who is 576th in the world rankings, broke 38-year-old Maria’s serve in the opening set. But Williams dropped serve twice, handing the set to Maria, who is 42nd on the WTA rankings.
A single service break in the second set was enough for Maria to clinch victory.
“The crowd was amazing. Usually I play a really big game and it’s fun to watch,” Williams said. “I felt I couldn’t play that with the wind. I felt bad I wasn’t able to give that performance I usually give. I was in control until I wasn’t … I just need to keep going and doing that and earn my stripes. I’ve been away a while.”
Williams has made the Australian Open singles final twice – in 2003 and 2017 – losing to her sister Serena both times and this year, she will break the age record held by Kimiko Date, the Japanese player who was 44 when she contested the 2015 Australian Open.
In another first-round result in Hobart, two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova lost to Peyton Stearns. Krejcikova, ranked 55th and unseeded in Hobart, lost to Stearns 6-4,1-6, 7-6 (4).
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