MELBOURNE, Australia – The latest from the Australian Open on Friday (all times local):
1:05 p.m.
Belinda Bencic has become the first player to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Kateryna Bondarenko in the opening match Friday on Rod Laver Arena.
With the roof closed and play on outdoor courts delayed because of to steady rain, the 12th-seeded Bencic overcame a slow start to dominate the final two sets of the 1 hour, 50-minute match.
Bencic, the first Swiss woman to advance to the final 16 here since Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder in 2007, will play either fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova or American Lauren Davis in the next round.
Tournament officials said play would not be possible on outdoor courts until at least 2:30 p.m., and the rain was still falling at Melbourne Park.
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11:35 a.m.
Rain has delayed the start of play Friday on outdoor courts at the Australian Open.
Play began on time at the three covered stadiums, including a third-round match between 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine on the main Rod Laver Arena.
Over on Margaret Court Arena, seventh-seeded and 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori was playing Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. At Hisense Arena, David Goffin played Dominic Thiem.
Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were set to play night matches Friday. The top-seeded Djokovic was scheduled to play Andreas Seppi while six-time champion Williams took on Daria Kasatkina of Russia.
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