Melbourne rains hold up Watson

CONTINUING rain disruption in Melbourne means Heather Watson has still to hit a ball in anger at the Australian Open.

The Guernsey woman's first round qualifying match against France's Kristina Mladenovic, ranked 301 in the world, is one of many uncompleted matches as the year's first grand slam battles against the consistently bad weather hitting the eastern side of the country.

Although some matches were completed on day three, the organisers are playing catch up after day two of qualifying was a complete washout at Melbourne Park, with not a single competitive ball hit, the first time an entire day has been washed out since the Australian Open relocated from Kooyong in 1988.

Watson, now up to 149 in the rankings, has a real battle on her hands to get into the main draw, which starts on Monday.