French rain shines light on Aust Open

The Australian Open and its Melbourne facilities are the envy of world tennis according to French Open director Guy Forget, who lamented another rain-affected day at Roland Garros.

For the second day running, the heavens opened in Paris and caused the postponement of first-round matches - with Forget admitting that further bad weather could lead to players being asked to forgo the rest day between matches in order to fix the schedule.

The French Open social media accounts were bombarded by fans complaining about the lack of a roof on the showpiece Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Australian Open - which typically struggles more with heatwaves than rain delays - has three roofs at its disposal, on Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and and Margaret Court Arena, making it as close to "weather-proof" as any of the grand slams.

It's a luxury Forget can only dream about as work continues to add a roof on centre court, which he hopes will be completed by 2020.

He says the delay is a matter of red tape.

"Welcome to France," Forget laughs.

"The red tape in France ... it's a process. We play by the rules.

"We asked for planning permission a long time ago. All we can do is monitor the situation and follow the due process."

Players have also complained about the lack of indoor practice facilities - with many travelling half an hour away from Roland Garros to find indoor courts.

Forget says there are similar problems faced by Wimbledon and at Flushing Meadows in New York - but not in Melbourne.

"When you look at it in Wimbledon or in New York, it's very hard when you have a few hundred players that are waiting for the rain to provide indoor courts," he said.

"Australia has a few, actually, and they are lucky because they have a lot of space.

"We do have indoor courts, unfortunately, but they're not in clay."

Crowd figures also reflect well on the year's opening grand slam with Australia second only to the US Open, which typically shades the Melbourne event by a few thousand each year.

"Our geographical situation is a disadvantage," Forget admitted when the French's lower attendance numbers were raised.

"We can't necessarily fight Melbourne, which has vast premises and of course who can bring more people in.

"We know we would always be restricted in these terms."