The Australian Open was thrown into chaos on opening day as wild weather shut down the majority of court activity for over six hours and forced eight matches to be rescheduled.

The fastest moving thing at the Australian Open on Sunday was not a tennis ball but a $25 poncho at the tournament's gift shop as wet weather wreaked havoc with the action on the opening day of the Grand Slam.

The first day of the Australian Open has been disrupted by heavy rain and thunderstorms in Melbourne. Matches at the season-opening Grand Slam tournament started as scheduled at 11:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday. But players on the outer courts were forced off about an hour later.