Australian Open play was suspended on the outside courts this morning after dirty rain fell overnight. It meant the courts without roofs were in grim condition and play was unable to commences on time at 11am (midnight GMT).
Fixtures on Rod Laver Arena, Maragaret Court Arena and Melbourne Arena went ahead as planned.
But supporters inside Melbourne Park were left in the lurch as they waited hours for the outside courts to be cleaned.
An official start time was rescheduled for 2pm (3am GMT) but it is unlikely there will be any play for hours beyond that time.
As of 1.30pm (2.30am) there were still some courts which had not been tended to. And Express Sport is told it could be a ‘long time’ before all of the courts are cleaned and ready to go.
On those courts in which the jet washing had already begun, it was taking hours to rid the brown grime which covered the surface.
As the water was blasted onto the court a large contingent of officials attempted to squeegee the dirt away.
British No 2 Heather Watson takes on No 16 seed Elise Mertens second on court 22 but she will have to wait until later in the day.
The 27-year-old has had no luck in Melbourne this week as her first-round clash with Kristyna Pliskova was postponed on Tuesday due to rain.
She returned on Wednesday and came from a set down to win in blustery conditions, which she compared to her time back home
Watson said: “It was super windy today but it is very windy in Guernsey. I don’t mind the wind at all.
“I like it and the way I play, slice, dropshots, and change of pace balls I think it works well in the wind and I’m patient.
“I feel sort of prepared because it was like that in Hobart a lot of the days.
“Being the first round match and it being postponed for a few days I felt a bit nervous on court in the first set and was a bit tense.
“But after that first set I managed to loosen up and relax and start enjoying it and I thought my game improved more and more as the match went on.”
Watson would have arrived at Melbourne Park expecting an early start this morning but it could be the evening before she gets on court.
However, fellow Brit Harriet Dart will get her match underway on time as she is headlining the night session on Rod Laver Arena at 7pm (8am GMT).
The 23-year-old is a huge underdog as she takes on Wimbledon champion Simona Halep.