AUSTRALIAN OPEN tennis was suspended for several hours after a heavy rainstorm smothered the outside courts with OUTBACK DUST.
Apart from the three show courts which all have roofs, the day four schedule was thrown into chaos on Thursday because of the inclement weather.
Play on courts 3-22 and on the 1573 Arena was supposed to start at 11am local time but that was put back because of a huge clean-up operation.
Melbourne Park staff spent hours in the morning and early afternoon trying to sweep away and also jet-spray the layers of dust which had formed on the court and seats.
SunSport’s exclusive photos and videos from courts 5, 7 and 8 show the full extent of the frantic process to get play started on time.
What did not help was the brief but strong rain shower just before 2pm which halted their efforts.
Local TV cameras showed the full extent of the dust with the Yarra river turning a dirty-orange colour.
Cars, clothes and outdoors furniture were also covered in sludge.
One bloke’s poor white Porsche was covered in muck when he woke up.
The city of Melbourne and surrounding areas have been affected by different times of extreme weather in recent weeks.
There has been hazardous smoke haze from intense bushfires in the State of Victoria.
There was golf ball-sized hail, fierce winds and flooding rain after a severe storm on Monday afternoon and evening.
Heather Watson had to spend most of the day backstage, waiting for the call to play Belgian’s Elise Mertens on Court 22.
Harriet Dart’s glamour tie with Wimbledon champion Simona Halep on the Rod Laver Arena will not be affected and will go ahead at the scheduled 7pm slot (local time).
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