Rain delays could not halt Sam Stosur as she beat Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets at the Qatar Open across almost four hours.
After first-round defeats in her first three tournaments of the year, Stosur made the semifinals in Taiwan two weeks ago and this victory sets her up for a second-round match with wildcard Fatma Al Nabhani or eighth seed Barbora Strycova.
The Australian scrapped to save a crucial break point at 5-5 and then capitalised on a sloppy Sevastova service game to take the first.
Stosur hung on in a mammoth service game in the second, which she took in a frenetic finish to go through.
Zhang Shuai and Timea Babos' scheduled game was moved to Tuesday as a result of the torrential weather.
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