• Play delayed for up to two hours after overnight deluge• Medvedev speeds past Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez
As the
Australian Open staggers towards the end of an eventful first week through hail, heat and polluted dust bombs, there was relief for Dominic Thiem, encouragement for Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev and confirmation that world No 1
Rafael Nadal is still dangerous away from clay.
Actually, when the dirt fell in an overnight deluge that briefly held Melbourne in an ochre embrace, it very much looked like a clay-court tournament until attendants power-hosed away gobbets and blankets of sticky dust, delaying the start by two hours in many cases.