DEFENDING champion Aryna Sabalenka extended her Australian Open winning streak to 15 matches on a rain-soaked opening day at Melbourne Park.
Less than an hour of play was possible on the outside courts before a huge thunderstorm hit Melbourne Park, sending spectators running for cover and causing a delay of more than six hours.
The matches continued as scheduled on the three covered courts, and Sabalenka opened the night session on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-3 6-2 victory over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
While it was a tough draw on paper, Stephens has slipped to 81 in the rankings and, barring a mini revival from the American when she won three games in a row after losing the first four, this was smooth sailing for Sabalenka.
The two-time champion said: “It was a tough match, always tough matches against her. Not that I played my best, probably, but I was glad I was able to close this match in straight sets.”
The player Sabalenka beat in the final last year, fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, also safely reached round two.
The 22-year-old from China, 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.
Meanwhile, Sonay Kartal was disappointed with her performance on her Australian Open debut as she fell in the opening round to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
The British number three won only one of the first 10 games but mounted a comeback and was close to forcing a deciding set before losing out 6-1 7-6 (5).
“I’m obviously disappointed with the result, pretty disappointed with the performance as well,” said Kartal, who missed out on a second-round date with defending champion Sabalenka.
“I was definitely far from what I expected myself to play and my expectations. But credit to her, she came out guns blazing in that first set. I wasn’t even getting a touch on a lot of her forehands.”
Kartal was the only British player in action on the opening day, with Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley and Jodie Burrage all due to begin their campaigns on Monday.