Rain delays start of play at French Open

PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) Rain delayed the start of play at the French Open today.

Venus Williams and men's fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko had both started to warm up for their first-round matches but had to head back into the locker room before playing a point.

Williams faces rising French talent Alize Cornet on Centre Court while Russian Davydenoko takes on Italian Stefano Galvani on court one.

The weather was expected to frustrate players and fans alike for the second day running at Roland Garros where the covers were in place on all 16 courts.

Steady drizzle washed away all but seven of the scheduled 24 matches on the opening day of the claycourt grand slam.

If the weather improves, world number one Roger Federer will be aiming to begin his campaign to win the only grand slam title to have eluded him.

With rain forcast for the rest of the day, organisers cancelled the last match on each court, including women's fourth seed Jelena Jankovic's contest against France's Stephanie Foretz.

REUTERS TB RS1741