Play moved indoors in Nottingham due to bad weather

The Nature Valley Open in Nottingham finally got under way on Wednesday but organisers had to admit defeat in their efforts to play on the grass.

For a third straight day, no play was possible outside because of rain, and at 1pm the women’s matches were started on indoor hard courts.

Top seed Caroline Garcia wasted little time moving into round two, defeating British wild card Naiktha Bains 6-1 6-2.

The Frenchwoman said of the conditions on wtatennis.com: “(In the last) couple of days, it’s become more complicated, but it’s unlucky for everyone.

“We just try to adapt to the situation, try to be more positive, try to take all the positives we can. It’s still a tournament and points every round, so I just fight for it.”

Fourth seed Maria Sakkari also beat a home player, seeing off Heather Watson 6-4 6-3, while things were tougher for former champion Donna Vekic.

The Croatian, who lifted the trophy in 2017, lost the second set to Dalila Jakupovic before racing through the third to triumph 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-0.

Sixth seed Ajla Tomljanovic eased through but seventh seed Zhang Shuai was beaten 7-5 6-3 by American Jennifer Brady.

Rain also affected the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, with only three matches played, although they were at least on grass.

Last year’s beaten finalist Kirsten Flipkens knocked out fourth seed Lesia Tsurenko 7-6 (8) 7-5 in the second round while qualifier Greet Minnen saw off Margarita Gasparyan.

In the first round, Natalia Vikhlyantseva defeated fellow Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-2 6-3.