Stosur winning in the rain in Qatar

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.