Melbourne, Jan 12 (IANS): A stormy start to the 2025 Australian Open could not prevent last year's runner-up Zheng Qinwen, as the Chinese fifth seed secured the first win at Rod Laver Arena by battling past Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni 7-6(3) 6-1 on Sunday.
The 22-year-old needed almost two hours to secure victory against Todoni in the pair’s first meeting. Zheng won 83 per cent of first serves, helped by eight aces, which contributed to a winner count of 29, nine more than her opponent.
Reigning Olympic gold medallist Zheng now awaits either Germany's Laura Siegemund or Hailey Baptiste of the United States in the second round.
Earlier, No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva was the 2025 Australian Open's first victor. The youngest player in the Top 20, Andreeva eased past former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-3 in their opening-round affair.
The 17-year-old Andreeva, who made the Round of 16 in her Australian Open debut last year, fired 27 winners to Bouzkova's 11 in her 1-hour and 36-minute victory.
In the second round, Andreeva will face either 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette of Poland or Moyuka Uchijima of Japan.
On the other hand, torrential rain and lightning have halted play on all outdoor courts on Day 1 of the Australian Open. Play will not resume before 5 pm local time (11:30 am IST).
While play continued on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena, play on all other courts was suspended approximately 50 minutes after matches began on Sunday.
The weather won't impact the two highest-seeded men in Sunday's action. Norway's Casper Ruud, No. 6 in the ATP Rankings, is set to play second on Laver against Spain's Jaume Munar, whom he leads 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.
In the feature night match on Laver, World No. 2 and two-time ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev faces a first meeting with French wild card Lucas Pouille. Zverev starts the season high on confidence after a 69-21 match record last season according to the ATP Win/Loss Index.
The rain forced players to scramble for indoor practice courts, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner practising side by side as they shared a court.