The Latest: Rain delays Australian Open start on side courts
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The latest from the Australian Open on Friday (all times local):
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.
