Paris, France, 29 May 2018 | tennis.com.au

Thunderstorms forced the suspension of play late on day two at Roland Garros, with Australian Matthew Ebden locked in a five-set battle with Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

The No.73-ranked Ebden resumes his first round match tonight with the score evenly poised at 4-6 7-5 2-6 6-3 after two hours and 56 minutes.

The 30-year-old Western Australian, who has hit 13 aces and 44 winners against his No.115-ranked opponent, is aiming to record his first win at Roland Garros.

A second-round meeting with Croatian Borna Coric, who upset 22nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in four sets in the opening round, awaits the winner.

Jordan Thompson did beat the rain – but not Norwegian qualifier Casper Ruud,  joining fellow Australians Bernard Tomic and Ajla Tomljanovic in making a first round exit.

READ MORE: Tomic out in four sets

The No.91-ranked Thompson gallantly fought back after dropping the first two sets, but was unable to overcome his 19-year-old opponent in a three-hour, five-set battle. The No.157-ranked Rudd won 6-1 6-4 2-6 4-6 6-3.

Ebden will be one of eight Australians in round one singles action on Tuesday night (from 7pm AEST), with John Millman, Alex De Minaur, James Duckworth, Ash Barty, Daria Gavrilova, Sam Stosur and Isabelle Wallace all scheduled to begin their campaigns.