Wimbledon Day Three - Venus Williams prevails under the roof of Centre Court

The rain ceased at 2.50pm to allow the court covers to be removed and play to get under way on Court One and Court Two at around 3.30pm.

Because of the delay, all men’s doubles matches were cancelled for the day and various court changes were announced, including a switch from Court 18 to the smaller Court 16 for Laura Robson’s match against Angelique Kleber.

Despite the unfortunate weather, five-time champion Williams rallied from a set down to beat Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm in a match of breathtaking drama under the roof on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

Date-Krumm took an incredible first set on a tie-break but only after Williams had battled from 5-1 down and saved a total of seven set points.

At times, the tennis was of the highest quality as Date-Krumm attacked Williams’ serve and the American scrapped her way back into the set.

Eventually, the 40-year-old Date-Krumm - a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1996 - clinched the first set in one hour and four minutes but by then Williams had found her rhythm.