Jabeur shocked, contenders cruise in rain-soaked Melbourne

MELBOURNE : Ons Jabeur made a humbling early exit at the hands of teenager Mirra Andreeva but title contenders Coco Gauff and Jannik Sinner both got safely through their second-round contests at a rain-hit Australian Open on Wednesday.

The wet weather that swept across Melbourne prevented the start of play on the outer courts for more than three hours but the more high-profile matches continued under closed roofs on the three main showcourts.

Tunisian sixth seed Jabeur could hardly blame the conditions, such was the one-sided nature of her stunning 6-0 6-2 loss to 16-year-old Russian Andreeva on Rod Laver Arena.

"It was probably my best match," said Andreeva, who still has to find time for school work along with her training.

"The first set I didn't expect that I would play this good. The second set was also not bad. It was an amazing match. I'm super happy with the level that I showed today on the court."

Alex de Minaur, whose recent form has some in Australia thinking the 10th seed might just be the one to end the country's 48-year wait for a home men's champion, followed Andreeva on Rod Laver Arena.

The 24-year-old Sydneysider benefited from a retirement in the first round and Australia's recent Davis Cup final loss to Italy was on his mind during his 6-3 6-0 6-3 win over Matteo Arnaldi.

"I thought I just had to be solid here, just use the crowd," De Minaur said.

"It's no secret that it was heartbreaking to lose the Davis Cup final at the end of last year ... today was a little bit of revenge for Australia."

DIFFERENT CONDITIONS

Sinner, the driving force behind Italy's first Davis Cup triumph, was delighted that the inclement weather forced the roof of Margaret Court Arena to be closed for his match against Jesper de Jong.