Rafa Nadal only managed to play nine minutes of his first round match at the French Open on Tuesday as rain continued to pour in Paris.

The defending champion is level at 1-1 in the first set with Thomaz Bellucci as the match between the pair rolls into a third day at Roland Garros.

Due to persistent showers at the start of the day and midway through the afternoon it was not possible to get many matches finished leaving Rafa and Bellucci, who were second on court, with nothing to do but watch the rain fall.

He is scheduled to continue on Wednesday after Maria Sharapova's match. Play starts at 11am (Paris local time)